YuGiOh! GX: Heroes
by kilnorc
Summary: Jaden and the gang aren't the only ones who entered the Duel Academy that fateful day. Two friends have enrolled and now, they will go through Academy life, dealing with unique faculty and students, alongside Jaden. School's in session!
1. Prologue

**Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Heroes**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Kilnorc: i tried doing this before, like one of my favorite authors does the original series, but I didn't have access or the time. Now I do. I know I have others, but I'll continue on those as well, this just gives me a small break from them. Thank you, and enjoy.**

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Even though the thrill of major duel competitions with Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, and the King of Games himself, Yugi Motou was practically gone, the fun of dueling was still present in Domino City. Kaiba and his company created a special school where anyone and everyone who loved dueling could go and learn how to be the best, to be the next King or Queen of games...

This is Duel Academy.

-----

"You got your deck?"

"Yes, Dad...,"

"You got your disk?"

"Yes, Dad...,"

"12 gauge?"

"Dad,"

"What, I'm trying out some new material here ok?"

"Try harder,".

A man with short brown hair glanced at his daughter, who sat in the passenger side of the car, "Very funny, Christina. You sure you wanna try out for this place? I mean, you're on a good level of skills, but it's gonna be rough there. You never did like regular homework before," he pointed out.

Christina Berg blew a strand of brown hair out of her big blue eyes, "I'll be fine. I had you for a teacher. I mean you did pretty good with this deck, right?" she asked, holding up a small box. Her father nodded, "Yeah, I did. I made some readjustments to that for ya. I found some great combos that you can use...beat the entrance exam with those and you'll be in for sure,"

She reached over and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug, "Thanks Daddy...wish me luck," she said as she started to open the door. Her father waved her off, "Nah, you don't need luck, just keep your head in the game and kick some ass,"

He watched as his daughter left the car, _Make me proud, Christina..._

_-----_

"Remember, just be good, and don't freak anyone out today,"

"Mom, when have I ever freaked anyone out in a duel?"

"Remember what happened at the Reunion a few months ago?"

"Oh...yeah, haha, I forgot,".

A young man with spiky black hair climbed out of his family's car and leaned inside, "You sure you want me using this deck at the Academy? I mean...I know how some of these cards made trouble and some of them freak you out...,"

His mother, a woman with blue eyes and short black hair grinned slyly, "I want you to use that deck, Siho. That was your father's deck and I want you to have it with you. Besides, if you have it at the Academy, I won't have to worry about the cards,"

The young man couldn't help but smile, "Ok, mom. Wish me luck," he said as he pulled away from the door. His mother leaned over in her seat, "GOOD LUCK!" she yelled.

-----

Christina sighed as she plopped down into an arena seat, watching the other applicants carry on with their exams. "So these are the future duelists of the world...," she said to herself.

"Well yeah, that's what Kaiba made the Academy for...,"

She looked out of the corner of her eye to see a boy with black hair come up behind her. She grinned and waved at him, "Hi, Siho. Was wondering when you'd show up. Your mama finally lettin' you play with the big boys?" she greeted.

He hopped over the chair and landed beside her, "Aw shut it, Chrissy. I'm surprised Daddy's little girl was allowed outside because of what happened on Halloween last year,"

"Hey, I didn't know that scarecrow was really a dude in rags," she shook her head, "Geez, you kick ONE guy in the nuts for fun and no one lets it die,". Siho laughed loudly and wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her in for a noogie, "Thanks by the way. You getting in trouble let me raid as many houses for a horde of candy,".

Christina slugged him in the chest, making him let go, "Oh you're quite welcome," she said sarcastically, "And don't call me Chrissy...sounds too girly,". Siho blinked as he rubbed his sore spot, "You _do_ realize that you're a girl right?".

Again, he was slugged, "Baka...yes, I know I'm a girl. The only problem I have with that is that people always consider girls to be all about make-up and cheerleading. _I'm _about kicking ass on Halo, dueling with my friends and watching a lot of movies with my dad,".

Siho nodded, "True true...you nervous about the duel exam?" he asked quietly. Christina shrugged, "Not too nervous. We may not be champions but we got some pretty sweet cards and combos in our heads...so we have a good chance of getting in,".

A loud dinging noise made the two of them stop their conversation, **"Will Christina Berg please report to Duel Arena 2. Repeat, Christina Berg report to Duel Arena 2,"**.

"Well I guess we'll test that today, won't we, Chrissy,"

For the third time, Christina slugged him hard and made her way to the Duel Arena, her deck in her hand. Siho rubbed the side of his face and watched her walk off, "Geez...,"

Christina stepped through the door of the Arena, her Duel Disk on her arm. She inserted her deck and waited for her opponent to show up, "Let's rock...," she said with a smile.

High above the other duelists, a pair of teens in blue and white uniforms were at the railing watching the duel exams. One was a girl with medium-length blonde hair and almond color eyes while her companion was a tall young man with spikey, dark blue hair and cold eyes.

She nodded to Christina as her proctor entered the Arena, "She's going to cream her," she stated. Her friend looked at her briefly, "How can you tell, Alexis?" he asked in an emotionless tone. The girl shrugged, "I dunno. It's like I'm getting a vibe off of her...some of the other kids I've seen duel here today gave off the same vibe,".

"You mean the kids that won and gained entrance to Duel Academy?"

"Right on the mark, Zane,".

Down below, Christina cracked her neck and knuckles while a woman wearing a pair of dark sunglasses inserted her deck.

"Welcome to KaibaDome, young lady. I am your Dueling Proctor and I'll be testing you to see if you can earn the right to go to our exclusive school," the woman greeted, adjusting her shades. Christina nodded as their disks activated, "Well then, let's see watcha got!"

**DP: 4000  
CB: 4000**

"DUEL!"

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**Kilnorc: ok ok ok, this may look familiar to my 2nd attempt at this story, but I couldn't think of anything else, LOL, just kidding! I'm sorry if this one lacked some stuff, but don't worry, more details will come, I promise. Ja ne!**


	2. Amazon Spirit

**Amazon Spirit**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

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**DP: 4000  
CB: 4000**

"Let's begin the duel shall we? Do you wish to go first or second, young lady?" the dueling proctor asked Christina as they both drew their first five cards.

"I'll go first," the teenager replied as she drew her card. She spent a few moments looking over her hand before picking two cards, "I'll place one card facedown on the field, and I'll summon Amazoness Fighter (1300/1300) to the field in attack mode!" she declared as a hologram of a muscular woman in green bikini appeared in front of her, "That's all I'm doing, so it's your turn,"

The proctor nodded and drew her card, "An Amazon eh? Haven't seen those in quite some time. But I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that. I summon Gradius (1200/800) and I'll equip it with a card from my hand, Cyclon Laser to boost it's power by 200,".

Christina watched as a high-tech looking jet appeared on the opposite side of the field, followed by a platform attaching itself to it, "Huh, so that's Gradius," she murmured.

"Gradius (1400/1000), attack that Amazoness Fighter, now!" the proctor ordered. The jet soared towards Christina's side and fired off a set of lasers at her monster. Christina just grinned as her monster was destroyed.

**DP: 4000  
CB: 4000**

The proctor frowned, "There must be a malfunction with that relic of a duel disk, young lady. Your life points should've gone down by 100 points!". Christina shook her head, "Nope, that's the effect of Amazoness Fighter. Any Battle Damage done to me while I control Amazoness Fighter, even if it gets destroyed, is turned to 0,".

Again, the proctor frowned, "I see. Well my turn is complete. Your turn, young lady,". Christina drew a card and smiled slightly, "Alrighty then. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!". A large figure in black armor with blades on it's arms appeared where her Amazoness once stood.

"Gearfried, go and wipe out that Gradius!" she ordered. Her monster dashed to the Machine monster and with a swipe of it's bladed arms, Gearfried destroyed the opposing monster.

**DP: 3600  
CB: 4000**

Christina looked at her hand, "I'll just end my turn right here...,"

The proctor drew a card, "I summon, Hysteric Fairy (1800/500) in attack mode, and I'll play another equip card from my hand, Silver Bow and Arrow! This boosts her power by 500 points! Hysteric Fairy (2300/500) attack her Gearfried!".

Christina closed her eyes as her Gearfried exploded from the Fairy's attack, her Life Points decreasing.

**DP: 3600  
CB: 3500**

----

Siho leaned over in his seat, "Well this is getting interesting. She's up against a good Fairy monster and she has no offense or defense at all,"

"Wow...I hope she can get past that thing," a quiet voice said. Siho turned to see a small boy with light blue hair and round glasses looking at the duel as well. "I wouldn't worry, kid," Siho looked back at the duel, "Christina may be a girl, but she's got some good skills and a decent deck. Her father used that a long time ago and now she uses it. She'll pull through, either by brute force or by sneaking behind enemy lines...,"

The boy looked at him, "What, is she like the daughter of a military officer or something?". Siho laughed loudly at the question.

-----

Christina drew a card from her deck, _Let's see...how to finish this?_ she asked herself mentally as she looked over her hand.

"If you delay longer than necessary, it will be considered a forfeit and you'll have to try next year, young lady...,"

The teenager glared at her proctor, "Hey a good duel needs a good strategy! You want me to hurry up, fine. I summon Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in attack mode to start this turn off," she said as a large falcon-looking human with two swords appeared in front of her.

Her proctor smiled, "A valiant effort, but unless you have a great spell card to boost his power, I'm afraid that bird will get his wings clipped," she commented.

Christina grinned, "Well I don't need a great spell to boost his power. First off, I play the spell card, Tremendous Fire! This deals you 1000 points of direct damage!". The field was suddenly engulfed by a raging torrent of flames and the onlookers could almost feel the heat from the realistic holograms.

**DP: 2600  
CB: 3000**

"You realize of course, that Spell dealt you damage as well?" her proctor inquired. Christina shrugged, "No pain, no gain. Speaking of pain, your Life Points are about to get more of them! I play another Spell card from my hand called Secret Pass to the Treasures! This allows a monster with 1000 ATK points or less to attack my opponent directly...so go on and attack her, Hayabusa!".

The proctor braced herself as the falcon-warrior passed her Fairy monster and slashed her twice, a slash per sword.

**DP: 600  
CB: 3000**

She looked at her disk, then at Christina, "I thought he only had 1000 ATK points! How was he able to deal me 2000?" she demanded.

Christina shook her head, "Man, for a Duel Academy chick, you don't know much about cards, do ya? Hayabusa's special ability kicked in. He can attack twice in the same turn, and since Secret Pass of the Treasures allowed him to attack you directly, he dealt you plenty of damage!"

**-----**

Siho whooped and wrapped his arm around the boy in glasses, "That's Chrissy for you, she finds a chink in the armor and goes for it!". The boy squirmed to try and get free of the cheering onlooker while he continued to cheer.

-----

"Finally, I'll play my facedown card, Heavy Storm to destroy your Silver Bow and Arrow Equip card!"

They both watched as the Hysteric Fairy's bow disappeared and her attack points returned to normal. Christina crossed her arms, "I would've done that sooner, but I didn't want that card to make things difficult for me,".

"So you know what else it did besides boosting my Fairy's power?" her opponent asked. Christina nodded, "If you had attacked me directly, the increased ATK power points will have been added to your Life Points,".

"I see...well you know you're cards, I'll give you that much. Are you through?" the proctor asked. Again, the teenager nodded, "Yeah, I'm done. Take your turn,".

The proctor drew her next card, "I summon my Ancient Elf (1450/1200) to the field in attack mode, right next to my Hysteric Fairy (1800/500),".

Christina hummed, This is gonna hurt...

"Ancient Elf, attack her Hayabusa Knight!".

Once again, one of Christina's monster was destroyed and sent to the graveyard.

**DP: 600  
CB: 2500**

"Hysteric Fairy, attack her directly!"

The fairy with white wings flew over to Christina's side and slashed her, making another chunk of her Life Points go down.

**DP: 600  
CB: 700**

"I end my turn," the proctor lowered her disk and Christina proceeded to draw a card.

She grinned slightly, "I place a card facedown on the field, and I'll summon Amazoness Paladin (1700/300) to the field in attack mode!". Christina could barely hold her glee in as a woman in tattered robes appeared before her.

"Amazoness Paladin, attack that Ancient Elf right now!"

The Paladin dashed to the staff-wielding elf and brought it's gleaming blade down upon it's head. With a grunt, the Elf exploded and the life points of the proctor went down

**DP: 350  
CB: 700**

"That's all I got, go ahead!" Christina challenged. The proctor drew her card and smirked, "You want to see what an Amazon can do? I'll show you. I summon my final monster, The Unfriendly Amazon (2000/1000) to the field in attack mode! Amazon, attack her Paladin!" she shouted, pointing to the other Amazon.

As the Unfriendly Amazon drew closer, Christina smirked, "Failed huh? I activate my facedown trap card, Amazoness Archers! When you attack me, this is triggered. All monsters on my opponent's field are revealed, and they must attack my Amazoness Paladin!"

"So?" the proctor frowned, "You'll still lose that monster...,". Christina wagged her finger, "Not really...you see my Trap Card has another effect. All of the monsters that attack my monster have their power decreased by 500 points. So your Unfriendly Amazon now has 1500 ATK points, less than my Paladin!".

The proctor gasped as Christina's Paladin slashed into her own Amazon, causing the attack to fail.

**DP: 100  
CB: 700**

"My turn now!" Christina drew a card, "I don't need this. Amazoness Paladin, attack her directly!". The proctor cringed as the monster rushed towards her and with a slight sting, the duel was over.

**DP: 0000  
CB: 700**

The proctor regained her composure and nodded, "Well done, young lady. Welcome to Duel Academy,".

Christina threw her hands in the air and waved them around like a lunatic, "WOOOOOHOOOOO!"

-----

Above the others, the girl known as Alexis smiled and looked at her friend, "Told you she'd win,". Zane scoffed, "Lucky is all. I doubt her friend will make it through...,".

Alexis raised an eyebrow, "Friend?".

The blue haired teen nodded to Siho, "He won't have such an easy time...,"

**"Attention. Will Siho Zolaro please report to the Dueling Arena Number 3? Repeat, Siho Zolaro, report to Dueling Arena 3...,"**

Alexis leaned over the railing a bit, "Well I guess we'll just have to see huh? Oh hey...," she looked to the other side to see the small boy with blue hair have a difficult start with his duel, "Your brother's starting his,"

-----

Siho entered the Arena, deck and disk ready. As he waited for his proctor, he looked at his deck, _Dad...I don't know how well you did with this deck, but I'll make sure I'll make you proud. This guy is about to meet the Prince of Darkness... _he thought with a smirk.

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**Kilnorc: WHEW! hope this was a good one. Seriously, I do. I had some trouble there earlier, but I think I pulled this off. Up next is Siho's duel, ja ne!**


	3. Dark Prince

**Dark Prince**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

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Siho stood silently as his proctor entered the arena. It was a man with graying hair wearing a pair of yellow sunglasses. Siho put a hand on his hip, "So, are we gonna duel here or what, old timer?" he called out.

The man scowled and inserted the deck into his duel disk, "Young people need to learn respect for their elders," he scolded. Siho rolled his eyes as they both drew their cards, "Look, I'll worry about respect later, let's just duel and get this over with!"

**DP: 4000  
SZ: 4000**

"Well age before bratty kids. I'll start this duel off by summoning Fiend Scorpion (900/200) in attack mode," the proctor adjusted his shades as a blue scorpion appeared on the field.

Siho shook his head as he drew his card, "Lousy little bug. I'll Set one monster facedown and I'll play a spell card called the Dark Door! As long as this card remains on the field, we both can only attack with one monster," he explained.

The proctor scoffed, "I know what it does, young man, I'm no novice!". Siho grinned, "Well let's just see about that. I'll end my turn with a facedown card," he declared, inserting a card into his disk.

As he looked at his newly drawn card, the proctor chuckled lightly, "Well, this will aid me some. I start off by summoning Uraby (1200/600) in attack mode alongside my Fiend Scorpion. Next, I'll play the spell card Dian Keto the Cure Master to raise my Life Points by 1000,".

"Nuh uh...," Siho wagged a finger, "I activate my facedown Trap card, Bad Reaction to Simochi! While this is on the field, any effect, whether it be a monster or a spell card, that increases my opponent's Life Points is reversed! Example, with this activated and that Dian Keto card, your Life Points are _decreased_ by 1000 points instead of increased!"

**DP: 3000  
SZ: 4000**

The proctor nodded, "Alright...if you're quite done...Uraby! Attack that facedown monster of his now!" he ordered his large, brown dinosaur. The reptile creature roared and stomped its way to the other side of the field and bit down into the holographic card.

Immediately after, a small green insect appeared and latched itself to the dinosaur, mandibles clicking. Siho smirked, "Since you attacked my monster, it's flipped up and it's effect is activated. This is my Man-Eater Bug and it's effect lets me destroy ONE monster of my choosing. Since you're dinosaur prevoked him, my Man-Eater Bug (450/600) will destroy him!".

With a roar, the dinosaur roared as the Man-Eater Bug bit deep into it and they both exploded into little bits and pieces. The proctor scowled, "I see. I have a question, applicant. Why did you choose to destroy Uraby and not my Fiend Scorpion?".

Siho shrugged, "Because of my Dark Door, your Attack Phase has been used up with Uraby and he was the strongest of your monsters so far, so he had to go adios," he explained.

"I see...clever,"

"Not really...my turn now, old timer?".

The proctor nodded and Siho began his turn. "I'll play the magic card, Upstart Goblin! I can draw another card from my deck, but you get a bonus of 1000 Life Points...normally. Remember my Trap card is still on the field, so you lose another 1000 points!"

**DP: 2000  
SZ: 4000**

"Next, I'll place one card facedown and I'll play another Spell card from my hand, Offerings to the Doomed! By skipping my next Draw Phase, I can select one of my opponent's monsters and send it packing to the graveyard!".

The Fiend Scorpion exploded in a cloud of smoke and the proctor adjusted his glasses again, "I'm beginning to see a theme to your deck, young man. You like to apply Direct Damage whenever you can and easy Monster destruction. It's a decent deck strategy, but it's flawed.

Siho looked over his hand, "Wrong...my deck's not built like that, and I'll prove it to you. I summon Master Kyonshee (1750/1000) to the field in attack mode!". Everyone that were watching the duel saw a man wearing Eastern clothes and a strange bit of paper over his face.

"Like him? He's one of my favorite monsters. Reminds me of Lee Pei Long from Shaman King," Siho said as he looked fondly at the martial artist.

"Are you done yet, applicant? I have other people to duel against here today,"

The ebony haired teen glared at him, "You want to get this done quickly? Fine. Master Kyonshee, attack that man directly!" he ordered. The Kung Fu master let out a battle cry and jumped high into the air, then came down hard onto the proctor, his foot connecting with the man's head.

**DP: 250  
SH: 4000**

-----

Christina hopped up and down with glee. "WOOHOO! Go Siho!" she shouted.

"Wow, tight duel!"

She turned to see a young teenage boy with short brown hair and big brown eyes. He was dressed in dark pants, a red shirt and a jacket that matched his pant color. "Yeah I know. Siho's one of the best people in dueling, although he stays away from tournaments," she held out her hand, "Name's Christina, who're you?".

The boy grinned and shook her hand, "Name's Jaden Yuki. Just got here,"

-----

"You think you can do that again, you little whippersnapper?" the proctor growled as he drew a card, "I'd like to see you try and get past this. I summon Robotic Knight (1600/1800) in Defense Mode!".

Siho raised an eyebrow as a machine-looking being appeared on the field, wearing a hat that looked like it came from the sailing days of the world, a large rapier in it's hand.

"I end my turn,".

_I guess I could've gone with the Prince of Darkness thing today, but my mom said not to freak anyone out..._ Siho thought as he glanced at his facedown card _Guess I'll just take a strategic way out like Chrissy._

He drew a card and looked at the proctor, "This duel is over!" he declared. The old man blinked, "You're quitting this duel? You've made impressive progress and you're quitting...sad is what it is," he muttered.

Siho let out a laugh, "Whoever said I was quitting? I said this duel was over! I activate my final facedown Trap card, Destruction Ring!".

The proctor lowered his sunglasses, "What? Could you repeat that?"

"DESTRUCTION RING!" Siho yelled, "I place this on one of my monsters and it's sent to the graveyard...,"

"And we both take damage equal to it's ATK points," the proctor finished.

"..._no_," Siho shook his head slowly, a little annoyed, "That's _Ring of Destruction. _Destruction Ring will destroy my monster, but we both take 1000 points of damage directly. Like I said, this duel is over!".

A jewelry-style ring with a large bomb attacked to it appeared on one of Master Kyonshee's fingers.

"BOOM BABY!"

The monster exploded and the power of the blast struck both players at the same time.

**DP: 0000  
SH: 3000**

"So...am I in, old timer?"

The proctor couldn't help but smile and put his yellow glasses on, "Yes you are, applicant. You have gained entry to Duel Academy,".

-----

As soon as Siho walked into the stands, Christina let out a squeal and jumped on him, "Congrats, Siho! Looks like we're going together!" she whooped. The people around them just stared at them like they were a couple of lunatics, including the boy Jaden that Christina had met a short time before.

"Christina, don't glomp me!" the poor boy pleaded as they both fell to the floor. Jaden shook his head, "Poor guy...,".

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**Kilnorc: I hope this is good, ja ne! Next up, the two watch as Jaden duels Crowler! Catch ya next time!**


	4. The Next King of Games

**The Next King of Games**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

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Christina and Siho made their way to their original seats as a young man in white with short black hair approached them, a tired look in his eyes. Jaden smiled as he took a seat near them, "Tight duel, Bastion!" he greeted.

The boy turned to him and nodded, 'Thank you,".

"Yeah, by the looks of it, you might be the second best duelist here!" Jaden added.

Everyone looked at him surprised, and the small boy with blue hair that Siho was with before blinked.

Christina sat down next to Bastion, "So you're in too, eh? Siho and I just won our entries to the school...how'd your duel go?" she asked kindly. Jaden grinned, "It was great, the guy he was dueling has two high defense monsters out and he used Ring of Destruction on his Vorse Raider. That ended the duel for him," he said, excitement clearly evident in his voice.

Siho chuckled, remembering what his opponent had said with his own Ring. "That was an interesting duel I saw," Bastion chimed in, looking at both Siho and Christina. They blinked and glanced at each other, "Uh...who?" they asked in unison.

"A little of both I suppose," Bastion admitted, "Siho seemed to have a few handy traps and effects up his sleeves and Christina had some surprising attack combinations. I must say I'm impressed,".

Before either of them could reply to that comment, Jaden laughed, "Well if you're impressed with them, you should see me when I take my duel!". Siho frowned and checked his watch, "Um...I think Bastion's was the last duel to happen here. I mean, the time is just about up," he told him.

**"Jaden Yuki, please report to Duel Arena 4, Jaden Yuki report to Duel Arena 4...,"**

Christina grinned, "I guess he'll have his chance after all. Good luck, Jaden!".

He gave a thumbs up as he made his way down the steps.

"Wait, Jaden!" Bastion called to him. Jaden stopped in his tracks and looked at him, "Yeah?".

"If I'm the second-best, who's first?"

Jaden smiled, "Your's truly, of course!" he replied before walking down the steps again, headed toward the duel arena.

"So Syrus...," Siho turned to the blue hair boy, "How'd your duel go?".

With a sigh, Syrus shook his head, "Barely made it...I couldn't concentrate will all the people staring at me...judging me. But I hope Jaden has better luck with his duel,".

Bastion nodded and leaned forward, "He's going to need it, look who he's dueling,". Christina and Siho watched as a tall man in a frilly blue overcoat walked into the appointed Duel Arena.

"Geez...since when did Michael Jackson start working at a school? Aren't the staff worried?" Christina thought aloud. Siho buried his face into the chair, trying very hard not to laugh at her comment.

He cleared his throat and looked at Bastion, "Who's Mr Frilly Pants?" he asked. Bastion leaned back into his chair, "Doctor Crowler, a professor at the Academy. He's one of the best duelists there so they put him in charge of the try-outs,"

Christina whistled, "Wow...,"

-----

"Well son, what's your name?"

Jaden turned to the source of the voice and stood straight, "Uh, Jaden! Jaden Yuki!"

"Hm, well uh, Jaden Yuki. I'm Doctor Veilan (SP?) Crowler. Department Chair of Dueling Techniques at Duel Academy," the frilly dressed duelist replied, introducing himself.

Jaden blinked, "Wow a Department Chair? I'm impressed. From the way you were dressed, I thought you were some weird Duel Academy mascot...like a cheerleader or something,"

Sweatdropping, Crowler looked at him, then pressed a button on a strange looking duel device that was strapped to his chest, "Duel Vest on!". Jaden whistled as Crowler hummed while he drew his cards, "Wow, sweet teach. How do I get one of those cool blue Duel blazers?" he asked.

Crowler shrugged slightly, "Oh, a lot of hard work and high marks," he replied, _But first you have to get into Duel Academy...and I'm going to make sure that that doesn't happen!_

"Alright then, let's duel!" Jaden said with a grin. Crowler frowned at him, this little brat was enjoying this so far! That wouldn't last long though.

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

Jaden drew his hand then his sixth card and looked over them, "Sweet!". He took a card and slapped onto his Duel Disk, "I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) to the field in defense mode!". Crowler and everyone else watched as a large man with green, feathered wings appeared in front of Jaden. "Also," Jaden placed a card into a slot, "I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn. Get your game on teach!".

"Yes very good," Crowler glared at him as he drew a card, _Don' t tell me what to do! After all, since I'm using my own personal deck instead of one of their test ones, I'll be calling all the shots. I'll fail this insolent little brat in no time _he thought as he looked at his hand, "Alright for this first move, I think I'll start nice and easy. I play the spell card, Confiscation!"

"Ok...," Jaden blinked, "What's it do?"

Crowler smiled, "What it does is, it allows me to take away 1000 of my Life Points to let me peek and your hand and to send one of your cards to the Graveyard!". Jaden's cards glowed and soon they appeared floating around in front of Crowler.

**C: 3000  
J: 4000**

"Oh yes...I remember some of these cards back in the day when I was a naive rookie. Now what card shall I banish?" he asked himself as he looked over the cards. He pointed at one of them, "Ah yes. Monster Reborn, to the Graveyard!".

As Jaden watched his Magic Card was sent to the Graveyard, Crowler inserted two cards into his duel vest, "Next I'll place two cards facedown on the field, and then last but not least, I'll play Heavy Storm! This destroys every other Magic and Trap card on the field!".

A heavy wind suddenly arose in the arena and Jaden's facedown Trap Card was destroyed, as well as Crowler's recently placed facedowns. Jaden grinned at the sight, "Whoopsie, did you forget that you had two Trap Cards of your own on the field?"

"Now now...you mustn't speak out of turn, young scholar," Crowler scolded as the arena was engulfed in a dark smoke. "Hey, what's happening?" Jaden demanded.

"Why, nothings happening," Crowler said innocently as two large golden serpent-like creatures appeared in front of him, "Nothing _yet_!"

-----

In the stands, Syrus, Siho, Bastion and Christina watched with both interest and confusion as did the rest of the onlookers. "Uh...," Syrus blinked a few times, "Could someone tell me what just happened?". Christina nodded, "Yeah same here...,".

Bastion folded his arms across his chest, "Those two Trap Cards that Crowler had on the field were called Statue of the Wicked. It's a special Trap Card that creates a Token Monster when it's destroyed. _That's_ why he used Heavy Storm,".

Christina and Syrus both let out an "ooooh" while Siho tapped a nearby chair in thought.

-----

Above the others, Alexis watched and shook her head, "What an elitist snob. He's bullying some kid with his own deck and his very best cards,"

"Don't be too soft, Alexis,".

She turned to Zane who had a strange look in his eye, "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare monster of his,".

-----

"Ready for your next lesson?"

"You bet! I can't remember the last time dueling was this much fun!" Jaden said with a laugh.

Crowler scowled, "Well I happen to be a very good teacher, thank you,". As he took a card from his hand, a fire engulfed the two Token Monsters, "Now, I"ll sacrifice my two Tokens to summon forth, my Ancient Gear Golem!".

A loud collection of gasps echoed through the Dome as a large circle of light shined on the field, and from that, a huge mechanical humanoid emerged from the field.

-----

"That's it!" Alexis stared at the sight, "The legendary rare card!".

Zane looked at with an emotionless face, "And I think we're about to see what makes it so legendary, Alexis...,"

-----

Crowler let out a laugh of glee, "Golem, attack with Mechanized Melee!" he ordered. The robotic behemoth groaned to life as it's gears began to spin and rotate. It stomped over to Jaden's side of the field and with a swing of it's mighty iron fist, it obliterated Avian with ease.

But that wasn't the end of it. The huge golem swung again, and this time, it hit Jaden head on, lowering his Life Points.

**C: 3000  
J: 2000**

-----

"Ok, what happened?"

Bastion glanced at Christina, "Whenever Ancient Gear Golem attacks and destroys a monster in defense mode, the difference between the monsters Defense Points and the golems Attack Points are dealt to the controller of the destroyed monster," he explained.

"WHAT! That no good cheating sonofa-,"

Siho grabbed Christina, who looked very mad at the moment in a headlock, "Easy Chrissy! You can't help what's going on so don't go nuts!"

-----

Crowler laughed again as Jaden had his head lowered, sobbing coming from him, "Now don't feel bad, young scholar. This is the top dueling school in the country. Some people," he paused and listened as the sounds of sobbing changed to that of laughter, "...aren't...cut out...for it,".

Jaden lifted his head, a large smile on his face, "Boy, I really wanna come to this school now! You really know your stuff teach!" he praised.

The frilly Doctor shook as he glared at Jaden, _How can he be so calm. I will not let him enter this school and make a mockery of MY deck! I refuse to let this idiot into my school!_

_Man, look at him tremble,_ Jaden thought as he began to draw his next card, _He must be really impressed with me!_ A loud cooing sound made him look down at his deck, "Huh?". He drew his next card and was surprised to see Winged Kuriboh in his hand, "Oh...it's you. Ok, let's see if this works,".

He looked at his opponent and slapped down the card onto his bare field, "I summon Winged Kuriboh (300/200) to the field in defense mode, and I'll place a card facedown!" he declared as a cute little furball with small wings appeared on the field in front of another card, "Not bad, huh teach?"

"No, not bad," Crowler chuckled, "But you see, I'm a master technician. A Kuriboh to me is rather pedestrian. Even _with_ wings, it's Defense Points are no match for my Ancient Gear Golem. It's a textbook mistake, so don't feel bad. Now let's continue shall we?" he asked as another card popped out of his duel vest into his hand.

He glanced at the card, then looked back to the field, "Ancient Gear Golem, attack with Mechanized Melee!". Once more, the metal giant stomped over and destroyed Jaden's monster with another huge punch.

_Sorry Winged Kuriboh..._ Jaden thought as his field became empty once more. Crowler frowned, "Check your gear, your Life Points haven't changed,"

"My gear's fine," Jaden held up his disk, "On the turn that Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, I take no damage at all,".

-----

Alexis scoffed as she watched Crowler's face contort into that of shock, "Well what do you know, a technique that the good Doctor didn't know...,". Zane leaned forward, "No one is expected to know every single technique and tactic in the rulebook, Alexis. Even one as obscure as that,".

"Well that kid sure knew it," the blonde said quietly as she turned back to the duel.

-----

"Oh well. You may have saved your Life Points thanks to your lame little monster, but that won't last long," Crowler said dismissively.

"Hey!" Jaden looked at him with a slight glare, "You may have destroyed my Kuriboh, but that doesn't give you the right to call him or any of my other monsters lame!". Crowler sighed, "Of course, how easily I forget that you new duelists grow attached to your monsters, I'm sorry,".

Jaden grinned, "Yeah, well you should be! Because when you attacked my Winged Kuriboh, you activated my trap card, Hero Signal!". A beam of light shot outward from the hologram and it hit the ceiling dead on. It was a circular piece of light with a strange looking H symbol in the center of it.

"This lets me bring out my second Elemental Hero. The Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800)!" Jaden explained as he took a card from his deck and placed it on the field. Crowler covered his eyes as a ball of fire appeared on the field and a woman in a skintight leotard emerged from the flames.

"My turn now," Jaden said as he drew a card. He looked at his hand and a plan began to form, _Winged Kuriboh, this one's for you_. Jaden's eyes went back to the field as he plucked a card from his hand, "I'll bring my Avian back to my hand with the Spell Card, The Warrior Returning Alive,".

Jaden took hold of the card as it popped out of the Graveyard slot, "Next, I'll summon him back to the field alongside Burstinatrix!" he declared as his green Hero joined his red companion on the field.

Crowler smirked again, "I see. Another foolish, amateur mistake. But this is good, this is good. Now why don't you tell me what you did-,"

"Hey, hold on!" Jaden interrupted him, "I'm not done yet. Now, I know that by themselves, my Avian and my Burstinatrix aren't strong enough to take your monster down. But that will change when I bring them together," he held up another card from his hand, "And I happen to have the right card to unite them...Polymerization!".

Both Burstinatrix and Avian leapt into the air as Jaden inserted the card, "I'll combine both my heroes and out comes...the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!". The two Heroes swirled into a mass of red and green until a much larger humanoid with wings and a red dragonhead-like arm stood in their place.

"You're Golem ready for a clash of the titans, teach?"

-----

"That won't work...," Siho muttered as he cracked his neck. Christina and Syrus looked at him while Bastion nodded.

"Watcha mean, Siho?"

Bastion cleared his throat, "Even though Jaden has brought out a more powerful monster, his Attack Points aren't strong enough to take down the Golem. Shame too, because of it's ability, The monster that was destroyed? It's attack points would be dealt as damage to the duelists Life Points,"

"Wow...," Syrus looked back at the arena, "Nice way to turn a duel around,"

-----

"Are you done yet?" Crowler asked with a hint of both boredom and annoyance in his voice. Jaden shook his head as he held up the final card in his hand, "Of course not. You see, I knew your Golem had more attack points than my Flame Wingman...so thats why I got this!". He flipped over the card in his hand to reveal a magic card, "Skyscraper!"

Everyone watched as dozens of tall buildings erupted from the field and rose into the air, surrounding the Gear Golem. On top of the tallest building, the Flame Wingman stood in all it's glory in front of a full moon.

"Go and show them your heroics, Flame Wingman. Attack that Ancient Gear Golem!"

"Fine by me!" Crowler's smile grew large, "Your silly little Field Card hasn't lowered my Golems attack level by one point!" he cried as the Wingman leapt above the creature.

Jaden let out a chuckle, "I know it hasn't. It was meant to raise my Wingman's by a grand total of 1000 points!".

Crowler watched in horror as the Wingman's attack grew from 2100 to 3100 hundred, more than enough to destroy his Golem, "WAIT! TIME OUT!".

"SKYDIVE SCORCHER!"

The Flame Wingman dove straight down towards the Golem, it's body soon wrapped in flames. As soon as the two monsters collided with each other, an explosion rocked the field, sending bits of debris flying, one piece of it hitting Crowler on the head.

"But...how? He was my very best card!" he whimpered, pulling at his hair. Jaden grinned, "Oh, and then there's my Wingman's superpower...the attack points of your monster are dealt as direct damage straight to your Life Points. Sweet huh?".

Crowler shook his head slowly, "N-no way!". He looked up just as the Golem came crashing down on him, knocking the remainder of his Life Points away.

**C: 0  
J: 2000**

"And that is game! Well teach...am I in?" Jaden asked as the holograms disappeared from the field while Crowler lay on the floor, beaten and humilated in front of everyone. The good Doctor glared daggers at Jaden, "Impossible...how could he possibly beaten me!" he hissed under his breath.

-----

Syrus waved his arms in the air, "Yeah! Way to play, Jaden!". Bastion smiled at the young duelist, _Nice...I could use some competition._

Christina glanced at Siho who glanced back, "So what do ya think?" she asked. Siho shrugged, "He's good, I'll give him that much...but not quite as good as certain others," he replied. Christina nodded, "Yeah...but I think that'll change once we get to the Academy. Oh crap, I gotta call my folks!"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: That's that ya'll...whew. Lotta work. Sorry, if it sucked. Tried my best here...took me a bit. Well I hope that was good for ya, so cya later for now, folks!**


	5. Welcome to Duel Academy!

**Welcome to Duel Academy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So this is the infamous Duel Academy...,"

"Yep...,"

"It's big,"

"Yep...,"

"Chrissy, I'm being abducted by aliens right now,"

"Yep...,"

Siho glanced over at his friend, who was looking through her deck, "You know, you could at least keep one of your senses free instead of all of them focused on your cards?" he asked. Christina blinked and looked at him, "Sorry, you say something, Siho?".

The black haired boy groaned and slapped himself in the face, "I don't know why I bother...,".

Christina frowned at him, "Well excuse me. I wanted to look over my deck, ok? I'm planning on making some changes to it!"

"Well, you can do that once we find out where we're staying!"

"Well, you can stop yelling at me about my cards and see what you can do about that!"

The two of them stared each other down, while other students passed by them, looking at them as if they were nuts.

Siho pulled back and crossed his arms, "Ok...so how do we find out where we staying?" he asked quietly. Christina looked at the red that they wore, "I dunno...but maybe it's got something to do with the color clothes we got...,".

While they both wore red, the two of them wore different clothes. Siho wore a red blazer on top of his usual black shirt, matching his pants while Christina wore a shorter red garb with the sleeves cut off, along with a short skirt that went above her knees.

"You look good in a skirt, Chrissy,"

"Shut up, you perv. I won't be staying in this long. First chance I get, I'm putting on a pair of jeans. I may be a girl, but I'm not a prissy princess type," she muttered under her breath.

"Uh...guys?"

The two of them looked ahead to see Syrus glancing at them with a look that told them to be quiet. Siho nodded, "Sup Sy?" he asked. Before the shorter boy could answer him, on the wall in front of them and the rest of the students they were grouped with, a large screen turned on an image of a bald man with a goatee appeared before them.

"Good morning and welcome, my students! I am Chancellor Shephard, the Headmaster here at Duel Academy, and _you_ are the best and the brightest young duelists in the world. Now, it's time for you all to get settled into your dorms. I can assure you that they're quite comfortable...depending on how you ranked of course,".

Siho and Christina sweatdropped as the bald man laughed afterward. This didn't really help them at all with their question.

-----

"Hey guys, check it out, found out how to know which dorm we're in,"

Siho and Christina leaned over the large stone decoration in the courtyard to look at what Jaden had referred to. He held up a small PDA, "You just look through here and poof, you find out what dorm you're in. Hey, Syrus," he turned around to the smaller duelist, "I'm in the Slifer Red dorm, what about you?".

After a few seconds of beeping and searching, Syrus' face brightened a bit, "Hey same here. Cool,".

"Head's up, smart kid coming," Christina cracked. The three other boys looked up to see Bastion walking by wearing a bright yellow buttoned up blazer. Jaden waved to him, "Hey Bastion, you in Red too?".

Bastion smiled slightly and looked over himself, "Let's see...yellow sleeves, yellow buttons. I don't think so,".

"Oh...," Jaden looked at his red blazer, "So that's how it works...,"

"Please don't tell me you just figured that out...," Bastion said slowly.

Jaden glared at him, "So what? You ever think that maybe I was color-blind!" he snapped.

"Actually, no I didn't. _Are_ you color-blind?" Bastion asked quietly.

The brunette snickered, "Nah, but I could've been!"

_This kid is nuts..._ Christina thought as Bastion began to walk away, _Then again, I'm not exactly sane myself..._

"See ya around the dorms!" Jaden called after Bastion. The boy in yellow stopped and turned back, his thumb pointing in towards the other side of the island, "I doubt that...your dorms are over there,"

-----

After a long walk from the courtyard, the four Slifers stood in front of what looked like a very low rated motel. It was two stories, had stains covering countless parts of the outside and a strange smell seemed to emanate from it.

Syrus waved his hand in from of his face as he followed Jaden up the stairs, "This isn't a dorm, it's an outhouse with a deck!". Jaden leaned against the railing, looking out at the ocean, "You kidding me, Syrus? Check out this view!".

Christina gagged at the smell as well, "Geez...Siho, did you just rip a big one or did someone stuff a dead hobo nearby?" she wheezed. The black haired boy clicked his tongue as he began to dig his knuckles into her skull, "VEEEEEERY funny, Berg. So do we just pick rooms at random or what?" he asked the others as he noogied Christina.

Syrus held up his PDA, "I'm roommates with Jaden, so we're set...,". Siho sighed and let go of his squirming friend, "Well I guess me and Chrissy will find ours later. Mind if we check out your room with ya?".

"Naw, come on in and have a look," Jaden replied as he turned the knob of a nearby door. He pushed it open and the four of them looked inside to see a somewhat small room with a pair of desks at one side and a triple bunkbed at the other side.

Syrus frowned a little as they entered, "Kinda small ain't it?". Jaden shrugged, "Eh, you're a small guy, Syrus. You're gonna be just fine. Besides, this place is gonna make a _sweet_ pad for our first year here!".

"Yeah, kinda weird that we meet at the entrance exams and now roommates?" the short duelist thought aloud as a dreamy look crossed his face, "I wonder if we got a special link from a past life or something. Like you were an Egyptian Pharaoh and I was the guardian priest Seto?".

Christina buried her face into Siho's shoulder, stifling her giggles while her friend's face turned red as he tried to surpress his own. Jaden raised an eyebrow at her, "No offense Sy...but that's pretty lame. Besides, they broke the mold when they made the two of us!" he said proudly.

"Yeah...," Syrus lowered his head, "For different reasons,". The three others sweatdropped at the sight of him. "Sy, we really gotta work on the confidence of yours," Jaden told him as he moved to the curtains, "But for now, let's brighten the place up a bit!".

As soon as Jaden pulled the curtains, a flash of light blinded the other three and sunlight began to pour into the room, making everything seem brighter. Siho hissed and raised his arms to cover his face, "The light, it burns, it burns!".

"You need to lay off the horror movies, Siho,"

"HEY! Those were closed for a reason!" a gruff voice growled. They all looked to the top bunk where they could see a large form underneath a thin blanket.

"Sorry, we didn't see you there," Jaden apologized to the lump.

The lump turned over and sat up, growling at them. It was a large, overweight boy with a round face and a oddly shaped oval nose. Christina immediately thought of a giant koala bear.

"Can you see me now!" the koala-boy snarled as Jaden and Syrus held each other for dear life, screaming at the top of their lungs. The large boy glared at them, "Would you stop your screaming? What are you four doing in my room anyway?" he demanded.

The two screaming boys let go of each other and quieted down. Jaden cleared his throat, "Sorry...my name's Jaden Yuki, and this is Syrus. We're your new...," he paused as the larger boy lied back down and rolled over on his side, "...roommates,".

"You're new alright, so lemme tell you how things work," the grouchy one muttered.

Syrus blinked, "Like when Parent's Visit is?" he asked.

"Duh, like the whole color thing works. That's the most important thing you have to worry about here,"

Christina looked at her blazer, "Are you serious? What's so big about the colors besides Dorm assignments?".

"There are three colored dorms here. One named after each of the Egyptian God cards. There's the Obelisk Blue students, the Ra Yellow students, and the Slifer Red Students. Now, the Obelisk Blue students are the highest ranking students. Most of them get into the school and their rank by really high grades while others get in by connections. Ra Yellow students are really gifted kids that have a lot of potential...and then there are us, the Red Wonders,"

"The Wonders...," Syrus murmured, "That doesn't sound too bad. Like a group of superheroes or something,"

Ignoring Syrus' comment, the large boy continued, "The Red Wonders as in 'I wonder how rejects like us made it even this far'. A lot of people look down on the Reds because they're the lowest ranking students on the island...nothing but dueling duds,".

The four others looked at each other for a few moments before the napping boy waved lazily at them, "Oh, by the way, I'm Chumley. Nice to meet you,".

-----

"So we're supposed to be the worst huh?" Christina thought aloud as she and the others walked away from the Slifer Dorm. Syrus sighed loudly, earning a glance from Jaden.

"Oh c'mon, Syrus. Don't tell me you're still depressed,"

Syrus sighed again and stopped in his tracks, "But Chumley said that we're the worst in the school!". Jaden waved him off, "Forget that. Think about this, where do you think they got the phrase, _red hot_ from? The color red, of course! Besides, the year just started, how can we be the worst?".

"He's got a point, little man," Siho agreed, putting a hand on Syrus' shoulder.

The blue haired duelist sniffed, "Yeah! Red is for red hot! Red is dangerous, fiery, a furnace! Or maybe like a really spice salsa dip!". He turned to Jaden to say thanks, but didn't find his new friend at his side. Jaden and Christina were running back to the main building, leaving Siho and Syrus behind in their dust.

"Looks like they ditched us, Dip-Boy," Siho sighed, shaking his head.

Syrus began to run after the other two, making Siho run after him, "I'm not a dip! Wait up you guys!" he pleaded as he tried to catch up.


	6. The Blues and the Challenge

**The Blues and the Challenge**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Guys, wait up!"

Jaden looked over his shoulder as he and Christina ran through the main building, "Hurry up, guys! There's some sweet duel action going on right now!"

"How do you know? You got a sixth sense about dueling or something?" Syrus gasped as Siho passed him. Jaden grinned as they slowed to a walking pace, "It's in the air, Syrus. Can't you just smell it?"

"Maybe, if the pollen count was lower...,"

"Or if the stench of dead hobo didn't stick to my nostrils," Christina added jokingly, "So, which way, Jaden?".

The brunette veered to the left into a very large room and whistled as the others came up behind him. The room was huge, with stands all around the walls and smack dab in the middle of it, was a large platform with wires coming out of the bases.

"Now this is sweet. This is the best dueling arena I've ever seen!"

Siho glanced at him before looking at the arena, "I've seen better...but you're right, this is a pretty good arena. Very state of the art looking...,"

Syrus' smile disappeared as a thought came to him, "You think we're allowed in here? I don't want us to get into trouble or anything," he said worriedly. Jaden shook his head, "Nah, we're students here and this _is_ our campus," he pointed out.

"Wrong. This is the Obelisk Blue campus. No Slifer Red rejects allowed!"

They all turned their heads to see a pair of teenage boys walking up to them, wearing dark blue blazers. One of the boys had strange blue hair that curled up in front of his forehead while the other had spiked up brown hair that was pointing straight upward.

The brown haired teen smirked, "That's right," he pointed to something behind them, "Look at the crest!". Siho turned to see a large symbol was above the entrance of the duel arena. It looked like a symbol representation of a demonic creature that had horns coming out of the sides of its head, and the symbol itself was painted blue.

"This is Blue Territory, no Reds allowed here!" the blue haired Obelisk sneered. Syrus turned to them, "Oh...sorry. We didn't know. We'll leave, right guys?" he asked, looking at Jaden. The brunette shrugged, "Nah, I don't think so. We don't have to leave if," he pointed to the blue students, "one of you guys agrees to duel me! I'll be a guest duelist!" he offered.

The blue haired student looked at Jaden for a few moments, "Wait a minute...you're that kid!". Before any of them could ask them by what he meant, the spiky haired student turned his head, "Hey Chazz! The guy who beat Dr Crowler is here!" he called out.

All four Slifer students turned to see a taller boy in blue with spikey black hair and cold eyes staring down at them, or rather Jaden in particular. Jaden waved at the new kid, "Hey, sup? I'm Jaden and you're...Chuzz was it?" he asked, looking at the first two blues.

"He's Chazz Princeton and he was the number one duelist at Duelist Prep School, so you be sure to pay the proper respect!" the blue haired teen snapped. His partner nodded, "Yeah, he's gonna be the next King of Games, the best duelist in da world!".

Jaden scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Impossible...,"

"What did you just say?" the first Obelisk hissed.

"I said it's impossible for _him_ to be the next King of games...'cuz that's exactly what I'm gonna be!" Jaden explained with a grin. The Obelisks stared at him and started laughing at what they had heard. Christina glanced at the two of them, "Ok, what's so funny? Nothing wrong with that, is there?".

The two boys stopped laughing abruptly and glared at Jaden, "You? A Slifer Slacker, the next King of Games? That'll be the day!"

"Can it you two!" a cold voice ordered.

Chazz walked down the ramp a little bit to get into their view some more, "Maybe the new kid is right. He _did_ beat Crowler after all...and that legendary rare monster of his. I guess it takes _some_ skill to pull that off,".

"Aw, thanks,"

"Or maybe it was just pure luck...," Chazz snorted ignoring Jaden's thanks, "I'd say we find that out right now,".

Jaden's grin became bigger, "Bring it!" he challenged.

"Well this certainly is a motley crew...," said a new voice.

They all turned to see another pair of Obelisk students walk up to them. One of them was a girl with long blonde hair and golden-brown eyes wearing the same style outfit as Christina, only blue. The other one was a tall young man with dark red hair and a blazer that was similar to the to others, except it was mostly white with blue linings.

"Wow...who are _they_?" Syrus whispered loudly. Christina shrugged, "Beats me Sy...betcha they're like the Three Stooges here," she whispered back.

Chazz smirked at the two, "Hey Alexis, hey Vahn. You two come to watch me mop the floor with my new friend Jaden? I promise you it'll be a short duel, but it'll be fun too,". The girl, Alexis, crossed her arms and lightly glared at him, "Vahn and I came to remind you guys that you're late for the Obelisks' Welcome Dinner,"

"Oh yeah...," Chazz leapt over the railing and onto the arena floor, "Come on guys,". Alexis shook her head as the three of them left the arena, "Sorry about him," she turned to the Slifer group, "Not all us Obelisks are like that. Chazz is just a big jerk, _especially _with Slifers,".

"Ah, no biggy,".

"Huh?" Alexis looked at Jaden, surprised at his reaction.

Jaden shrugged, "Those types don't really bother me at all. Besides I could take him down in one turn, well two turns...ok, _maybe_ three turns. Hey, what's so funny?". Alexis shook her head as she stopped giggling, "Nothing, don't worry about it,".

"Alexis, we should get going too," the tall teenager behind her said quietly, putting his hands into his blazer, "You Slifers should head back to your dorm as well. The Slifer Welcoming Dinner is starting too and you don't want to be late,".

Siho checked his watch, "Damn he's right. Geez, the meals start early around here don't they? Oh that reminds me," he looked at Christina, "We still don't know where we're bunkin'...,".

"Well I'm pretty sure you guys can't be roommates. Girls and boys are seperated into different dorms," the quiet Obelisk informed them. Christina sighed, "Great...we have no clue where the girl's one is...I didn't even see any girl Slifers since I got here,".

Jaden grabbed them both by the sleeves, "Worry about that later, we gotta get some food before it's all gone!". Christina yelped as Jaden began to drag her and Siho away from the arena, while Siho went limp for some reason.

Just before they were about to leave, Jaden stopped running and turned back to the Obelisks, "Name's Jaden by the way!" he called out.

"I'm Christina!" the female Slife added quickly, waving at them, "And the limp one is Siho!".

Alexis blinked at the introductions and smiled slightly, "My name is Alexis. Alexis Rhodes!" she nudged her friend, who glared slightly at her.

"I'm Vahn Gale. Welcome to Duel Academy, you guys,"

-----

Later that evening, in the horrid dump, er...the Slifer Red Dorm, every single Slifer student sat in a small room at makeshift tables that had small meal boxes set at each one.

"You're kidding me. _This_ is our welcoming dinner?"

"That's nothing! Our headmaster is a fat-ass cat!"

Christina leaned to the side to see a large, orange striped cat sleeping lazily on a desk at the front of the room. Her eyes lit up and she resisted the urge to go and cuddle with it, "Aw...kawaii!" she squealed.

However, everyone's attention on the lazy cat was diverted as a tall man in a buttoned shirt and tie walked into the room. With the tie combo, the glasses and the long black hair tied into a ponytail behind his back, they could definitely tell he was a teacher...or someone with _some_ authority.

"Hello children!" the man smiled as he waved at them all, "I am Professor Banner. Now, before we begin, I'd like you all to say something about-,"

"Man this stuff is great!"

Everyone turned to the back to see Jaden was already stuffing his face with the food in front of him. Syrus leaned in to him, "Uh...Jaden, we're supposed to say something about ourselves," he whispered.

"Ok, I love this food!"

"Jaden, come on. He's walking over here...,"

"Syrus, eat some of this, this is good stuff!"

"I mean it Jaden...,"

"Well since _some_ of us don't feel like waiting...,".

Jaden nearly choked on his food and looked up to see Banner standing right behind Syrus, hands behind his back, "Uh..,"

Banner smiled, "...let's just eat, shall we?"

"OH GOD FINALLY!"

The entire room turned again to the source of the scream. Christina was about to take a bite of her dinner when she noticed everyone staring at her.

"You wanna mess with a girl that hasn't had anything to eat since breakfast?" she growled, pointing her chopsticks at them.

-----

Jaden let out a satisfied moan as he plopped down onto the floor of his dorm room, followed by Siho who let out a similar noise.

"Man...Banner sure can cook, can't he?"

Siho nodded slowly, "Oh yeah. Haven't had anything that good in a while,".

Syrus walked over to them holding a plate of steaming mugs, "Yeah, and he seems like a pretty nice guy as well,". Jaden nodded as he reached for a mug, "You got that right, he's good people,". Siho nodded in agreement as he took a mug, "Damn straight,".

"Hey, Chumley," Syrus looked up at the top bunk, "Want some tea?"

"Did I say I was thirsty?" the heavyset Slifer growled.

Jaden glanced at the top bunk, "Hey, he just asked. You don't have to snap at him!".

"It's ok, Jaden...," Syrus' familiar look of sadness crossed his face, "I'm used to it,".

Chumley shifted on his bunk, "Besides, tea makes you wet the bed. Not that I do...or ever do. I mean, it's not like...whatever, you know what I mean. I don't want any tea,".

"Big boy gets small accidents huh?" Siho murmured as he took a sip of his tea.

A loud beeping noise made the three other boys look down at Jaden's pants. He moved his jacket out of the way and pulled out his PDA from his belt, "Hey, I got mail,". As soon as Jaden pressed the button on the side, Chazz's face appeared on the screen.

**"Hey Slifer Slacker. Don't think you got off easy. You and me, tonight, it's on. Also, to make it interesting, the winner gets the losers best card,"**

The PDA beeped and shut off as soon as the message was complete. Chumley had heard the message and he rolled over, looking at Jaden, "If that's Chazz you're dueling...then you got trouble, newbie,".

Siho raised an eyebrow, "Ok...so you got the challenge, now what, Jaden?". His fellow slacker grinned and grabbed his deck that lay on his desk, "Now I duel! Come on guys!".

Chumley watched as the three other Slifers ran out of the dorm and shook his head, "I warned 'em...nothing but trouble,"


	7. Jaden vs Chazz: First Duel

**Jaden vs Chazz: First Duel**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

After a short while of walking, the three Slifers walked into the Obelisk Arena, Jaden wearing his duel disk on his arm.

"You sure you wanna do this, Jay?" Syrus asked worriedly. Jaden nodded, "Oh yeah. When someone challenges you to a duel, you don't back down away from it Syrus,". Siho clicked his tongue, "True dat, true dat,".

As they passed through the entryway, they caught sight of Chazz and the two Obelisk boys that were with him earlier that evening. Chazz smirked at them, "Well well well...you showed up, Slacker," he greeted.

Jaden nodded, "Of course. No way was I gonna miss this!" he shot back as he climbed onto the dueling platform. Syrus and Siho took to the sidelines as the two duelists went to their respective ends of the platform.

"Now, we see whether you being Dr Crowler was a fluke, or a fact," Chazz said, moving a lock of his black hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah," Jaden nodded, "And we're gonna find out something else too. Like which one of us is gonna be the next King of Games,"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just be sure to get your best card ready to hand over after this,"

"You too, Chazz. Now let's do it!"

With a series of beeps and whirs, their duel disks turned on and they each drew their hands.

"DUEL!" they both cried.

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Alright Slacker...," Chazz drew his card and looked at his hand, "I'll summon Reborn Zombie (1000/1600) in Defense Mode and I'll play a card facedown,"

Siho's eyes went wide at the sight of the decaying zombie, "Wow. That looks good...I need to get me one of those for my deck,".

"I guess that's _one_ way to start a duel. Guess I'm gonna go even bigger so here goes!" Jaden drew his card and looked over his hand, "Ok, first off, I'll play the Spell Card Polymerization and I'll fuse my Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix from my hand to summon the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!".

The audience of four watched as the winged hero and the red heroine appeared on the field before swirling into each other once more. Now, in their place, the large winged creature from the first duel was on the field.

"I told you I'd start big, didn't I?"

Chazz chuckled softly, "I was_ hoping_ you would...,"

"Why's that...?" Jaden asked slowly, not liking Chazz's tone.

The Obelisk smirked, "Because that facedown I played before is a Trap Card, that _you _set off! Chthonian Polymer, do your stuff!" he ordered. The holographic facedown rose to reveal a card that had an image of a man wrapped in flames.

-----

"What's Chthonian Polymer's...stuff?" Syrus asked meekly.

"I knew it! We had a feeling we'd find you guys here!".

Both Syrus and Siho turned to see Alexis and Christina walking up to them. Siho turned back to the duel, "Hey Chrissy,".

_SMACK!_

"OW!" Siho yelped, rubbing the back of his head. Christina lowered her fist, "That's what you get for not telling me about a duel! You know I love to watch!" she scolded.

Alexis glanced at them, then looked at the duel, "Chthonian Polymer is a nasty Trap Card. It allows you take control of your opponent's Fusion Monster if you sacrifice one of your own," she explained.

"But...," Syrus looked back at his friend, "Jaden just brought out a Fusion Monster!"

-----

"I know sacrifice my Reborn Zombie to take control of your Wingman, Slacker!" Chazz laughed as his monster exploded in a blast of light and Jaden's Elemental Hero appeared on his side of the field.

Jaden groaned as he lost his best monster, "Oh man...not my Wingman,"

Chazz shook his head, "You're so predictable, Jaden. You wouldn't stop talking about this monster that day of the exams. I knew that you would use it soon,".

"So what? Since that was a Special Summon, that still lets me summon a monster from my hand," Jaden reminded him then looked at his cards, _Not like that'll help me though. Not one of these cards so far can go against the Wingman..._

Chazz loved this. He had the Flame Wingman, the monster responsible for Crowlers defeat on his side of the field. _Go on Slifer Slacker, summon another monster. After all, I haven't forgotten about the Wingman's special ability_ he thought wickedly as he watched Jaden scan the three cards he had left in his hand.

"Alright, I'll summon the Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in Defense Mode!" Jaden declared as he slapped another card onto his disk. A large, round man of clay and mud appeared on the field, arms crossed, the red dome of a head shining in the light of the arena.

"There...all set up,"

Chazz shook his head as he drew another card from his deck, "Set up alright...set up to get knocked down! Rise, Chthonian Soldier (1200/1400)!". A man in dark armor, wielding a large blade appeared on the field next to the stolen Wingman.

"And now...Flame Wingman, attack with Skydive Scorcher!"

The winged Hero rose into the air, then dove at Clayman as the flames rose around his body once more. With a groan of pain, the Clayman was destroyed in a flash of light and the Wingman landed in front of Jaden, arm stretched out to him.

"Don't think I forgot about his superpower, Slacker. Now, your Life Points take damage equal to that of your destroyed monsters attack points!"

A torrent of flames erupted from the Wingman's dragonhead arm and engulfed Jaden, knocking a small chunk of Life Points off.

**C: 4000  
J: 3200**

"But don't think I'm done there Slacker! Chthonian Soldier, attack with Windstorm Slash!"

Even as he was still recovering from the previous Direct Attack, Jaden felt the blade go through him as the Soldier sliced into him, sending more of his Life Points down the drain.

**C: 4000  
J: 2000**

-----

"C'mon Jaden! Show that snob what the Red Wonders can do!" Christina cheered while Siho and Syrus clapped.

"That's right, bring him down!"

"Go for it, Jay!"

Alexis' eyes never left the duel, but she had heard what they said. _Even though they just met, they're already rooting for him to win. I wonder if it's because they're friends or just fellow Reds wanting to get at the other Obelisks for putting them down..._

-----

Jaden was on his knees now and Chazz was loving every bit of it. "Have you learned your place now, Slifer? You may have been someone back home, but here, you're nothing but a little amateur, you Slifer Slime!". He paused to insert a card into the bottom row of his disk, "I'll end my turn with a facedown card,".

Muffled sounds were heard as Jaden's shoulders shook. Chazz's grin grew wider, "Aw, what wrong, baby? Are you crying?" he taunted.

The 'crying' turned into laughter as Jaden lifted his head, a large goofy smile on his face, "This is too fun!"

Chazz stared at him, "What!"

Jaden wiped his chin, "This is exactly what I came here for. I mean the trash talking, the action...it's all so great!"

"What the...,"

-----

"Wow...nothing seems to get to him, does it?" Christina asked loudly, stunned at Jaden's attitude. Siho nodded, "Reminds me of a certain someone," he murmured as he watched Jaden draw his next card.

"What?"

"Nothing,"

-----

"Now, I summon the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) to the field!"

Another strange looking human appeared on the field, this one dressed in yellow and blue garb with a curved blue helmet. Immediately, Christina thought it looked like something from an old Megaman game she had played with her dad in years past.

"Alright, Sparkman. Now attack with Static Shockwave!" Jaden ordered. The Sparkman jumped into the air and pointed it's fist directly at the Chthonian Soldier. It's arm surged with electrical sparks before a beam of shot forth from it's hand and hit the enemy monster dead on, destroying it completely.

**C: 3600  
J: 2000**

_You think you got this done, Slacker?_ Chazz growled as he watched his Soldier's curved blade rise above the smoke and fly straight at Jaden, hitting him in the chest. Surprised, Jaden fell to one knee, holding himself.

"Still think you won that one? Whenever Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you take the same amount of damage to your Life Points as I did...the only difference is, _you _barely have any left to spare!"

**C: 3600  
J: 1600**

Jaden lifted his head, glaring at his opponent, but not too angry at the tactic. Dueling was his life and this is what he lived for...although a less annoying opponent would be nice.

"It's only a matter of time before your best card goes to me, Slacker...," Chazz cackled.

Jaden shook his head as he inserted a card into one of the slots of his disk, "This ain't over yet...I play a card facedown and I end my turn,".

"Play whatever you want, Slacker, it won't make any difference! My next attack will finish off your Life Points," Chazz scoffed as he drew another card, "And that attacks coming right now! Go Flame Wingman!".

As the Wingman's body began to be covered in flames again, Jaden shook his head, "I don't think so! I play my facedown Trap Card!".

"A Trap?" Chazz's eye twitched. He wasn't expecting this...he had this in the bag and now it could go flying out the window!

-----

"It's Mirror Gate!" Syrus said in awe of the Trap Card. Alexis nodded, "Then Jaden still has a chance in this duel,".

Christina scratched her head, "Um...ok, I dunno what that does. Mind enlightening us?" she asked, glancing at the two.

"Mirror Gate makes two monsters in battle switch which side their own so now, the Wingman is back with Jaden," Alexis explained as the Sparkman appeared on Chazz's side of the field.

Siho nodded slowly, "Nice Trap...the kid really plans ahead don't he?"

-----

The two Heroes grappled with each other in the air, sparks of flames and electricity crackling around their hands. It didn't take long before the Sparkman was covered with electrical currents and was sent to the Graveyard.

"NOOOO!" Chazz screamed at his loss of his monster and his Life Points.

**C: 3100  
J: 1600**

"And, just like you told me a while ago, my Wingman's superpower kicks in! You take damage to your Life Points equal to your destroyed monster's attack points!" Jaden reminded him as the Wingman send waves of both flame and electricity down at Chazz. Once more, the Obelisk duelist screamed as his Life Points went down considerably.

**C: 1500  
J: 1600**

Chazz glared daggers at Jaden as he drew his next card, "Lucky turn, Slifer Slacker. Now I play the Spell Card, Chthonian Blast! Since you've destroyed one of my monsters, I get to destroy one of yours!"

A swirling mist appeared on the bottom of field just before it ensared the Wingman and destroyed it without mercy.

"Plus, you take damage equal to half of your destroyed monsters attack points!" Chazz added gleefully.

**C: 1500  
J: 550**

"Now, I activate my Trap Card, Call of the Haunted!" Chazz went on as his card flipped upward to reveal a card with tombstones as a picture, "This lets me bring back a monster from my Graveyard to the field in attack mode! I summon Chthonian Soldier, but he won't be staying long, because I'll be sacrificing him to summon Mefist the Infernal General (1800/1700) to the field!".

Jaden looked calmly at the mounted horseman in front of him, "Not bad...,"

"Not bad?" Chazz looked at him for a few moments, "You're something else, you know that, Slacker? Acting confident and all...but you're lousy monsters won't get you out of _this_ jam,". Jaden looked at the only card in his hand. The Winged Kuriboh and smiled at it, "I know he's wrong, Winged Kuriboh...because we both know that my monsters and I have a bond,". He drew his next card and smiled slightly, _Speaking of..._

Alexis turned her head to the entrance of the arena, a nervous look on her face. Christina noticed the look and frowned, "Sup, 'Lex?" she asked. Alexis' eyes went wide and she snapped her head back to the two dueling students, "Guys! We got company! Campus Security! If we get caught here, we're all gonna get seriously busted,".

"What!" Syrus yelped.

Jaden looked at her, "What? Why? I mean, we're all students here, so why should we worry?" he asked her. Alexis rolled her eyes and pulled out her PDA, "The Rules of Duel Academy say that there is no off-hour dueling in any arena! Chazz _knew _that," she looked at the other Obelisk who's face began to turn red, "But lemme guess...he didn't tell you?"

The blue haired Obelisk student leaned forward from his watching place, "C'mon Chazz, let's go!"

Princeton snorted and turned away from the others, "Let's go..,"

"Hey wait a minute, the duel isn't over!" Jaden protested, not believing this was happening.

Chazz hopped off the platform and started walking away, "Yeah it is, Slacker. I saw what I needed to see. You're a sorry duelist and you beating Crowler was a fluke...,".

"But...,".

"Jay! We gotta get outta here!" Syrus urged. Christina ran over to him and grabbed his arm, "Get over here! It's my first night here and I don't wanna have to call my mom and dad and tell them I already broke the rules!" she hissed.

-----

After some close calls and harsh moments of forced silence, Alexis and the others made it outside of the main building. She looked back to Jaden who was being pushed and dragged by Christina and Syrus.

"You sure are stubborn aren't you?" she asked him.

Jaden scowled as Christina let go of him, "Only about my dueling,". Syrus sweatdropped, "Anyway, thanks for showing us the back way out, Alexis,". The Obelisk female smiled and nodded, "No problem. I'm just sorry that you didn't get to finish your duel with Chazz, Jaden,".

The brunette Slifer shrugged, "It's ok. I just picture on how it would've ended anyway...,". Alexis raised an eyebrow, "Oh? From my point of view, it could have gone either way,".

"Pfft, no way! Not after I drew this," Jaden lifted up the card he had drawn before they escaped the patrol. It was the Monster Reborn spell card. Christina and Alexis looked at it, both surprised at the luck he must've had to have drawn the card.

Jaden smiled and began to walk away as they began to understand the strategy he had, "Catch ya later, Alexis!". Siho and Syrus walked right behind him, leaving Christina and Alexis behind. "Man, I wanted to see that!" Christina whined loudly, her head falling.

Alexis patted her on the shoulder, "I'm sure there'll be more duels where he could pull that off. You should go on with them so you don't get caught seperately," she advised. Christina nodded, "Right. Adios, Alexis!".

The blonde Obelisk female watched as the four Slifers walked away together, Christina hopping onto Siho's back, obviously wanting a free piggy-back ride.

_This is going to be one interesting year..._ she thought with a smile before she left the area for her own dorm.


	8. Poor Syrus

**Poor Syrus**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So...remind me how we got into this, Siho?"

The black haired duelist glanced to the side to look at Christina who occupied the boat along with Jaden and Syrus. "Do you _really_ need to be reminded of that, Chrissy?" he asked slowly. The brunette shrugged, "Hey, I was here when he came, and I _still_ dunno what's going on!".

Siho let out a loud sigh and looked ahead. Jaden and Alexis were staring each other down as they each stood on the ends of their seperate boats on the waters near the Obelisk Girls' dormitories. "I have no clue...just watch,"

-Sometime earlier...-

"Man...girls, gym...why don't they make the signs in this place any bigger?"

Siho looked over his shoulder to see Syrus dash into the same row of gym lockers as him, "Uh...running a little late aren't you, Syrus?" he asked as he tied his sneakers. The blue haired Slifer sighed as he opened his locker, "Blame that on the writing and schedules, Siho. I can barely find my way around this place!".

He opened his locker and sighed, "I see Jaden's still borrowing my locker...,". Siho walked over to him, "It's not so bad having a lockermate, trust me," he said as he scanned the locker. He frowned as he spied an envelope that lay ontop of a red pair of sneakers, "Uh...you've got mail, bud,".

Syrus picked the envelope up and blushed slightly, "Th-this isn't Jaden's! Someone actually...wrote me a letter?" he glanced from side to side and ducked between to locker sets. Siho rolled his eyes and walked over to him, eyes looking over the now open letter, "Won't matter if you run man, I already know you got one, so I might as well read it. So...c'mon what's it say?".

"Since the moment I saw you, I've been madly in love with you?" Syrus blinked in disbelief, "Meet me at the Obelisk Girl dorms tonight. Endearingly..._ALEXIS RHODES?_".

Siho scoffed and snatched the letter away while Syrus fell on his rear in shock, "Alexis Rhodes? Blue girl? Please she wouldn't send a love letter to a guy she just met...especially a guy who's short, wimpy, and a Slifer," he said as he began to read the letter.

"This is better than what my mom sends me...hey wait a minute!"

"Dude, you need therapy," Siho shook his head and let the letter drop into Syrus' hands, "I still don't get this. Someone's settin' you up for a practical joke,".

"How do you figure?" the Slifer asked as he picked himself. Siho rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Do I _really_ need to say it all again? You're not her type, trust me,".

"Are you just saying that because that's what you think, or are you saying that because you probably never had a girlfriend before?" Syrus challenged, his face turning red, "You know what, I don't care what you think, I'm going to go meet Alexis like she wants to!".

Siho watched as Syrus bolted from the locker room and lightly banged his head against the nearest locker, "I warned him...,"

-----

"Heehee...this is _perfect_! That fake love letter I sent will put an end to my troublesome Slifer...,"

Crowler lurked quietly that night, in a bush just outside the Obelisk Girls' Dorm wearing a tight black outfit. Why? Probably had a fetish or something...anyway. He rubbed his hands together in glee, "Jaden will show up here in no time flat, waiting for Alexis to meet him. Then, when he's not expecting it, I'll jump out and take a picture of him! That'll get him expelled and make him go far, far away...,".

A rustling nearby made him duck down out of view, camera ready in his hands. "That's it Jaden...," he breathed, "Walk right into my trap like the Slifer sap that you are...,".

"Alexis? I'm here!"

Crowler let out a scream and jumped out of the bush, staring in shock at the person that had just come. It wasn't Jaden, it was Syrus! _Why is that Field Spell idiot here! I sent that letter to Jaden but his midget of a friend came instead!_

"Who's out there!"

To add to his problems, a large group of girls wearing their pajamas came walking out of the building, having heard his scream. _NO! I CAN'T LET THEM SEE ME! _he thought, trying desperately to find a way out of this predicament.

"AAAAAAAAH! IT'S A BOY!"

Crowler's hands shot up and covered most of his face, "I am not a boy, I'm a man!" he yelled defensively, "I mean I'm nobody! You don't know me, you don't know me, you don't know me!". He spun around and started to run away, but slipped into the lake behind him and started to sink beneath the water, leaving Syrus to be mobbed and dragged into the dorm building.

The next thing the poor boy knew, he was on his kness in front of Alexis and two other girls while his wrists were bound by rope. He had explained to them what why he had come, but they had something to say about that.

"A love letter? To you and from _Alexis_?"

Syrus nodded, a large grin on his face, "Yep, ain't that right, Alexis?" he asked, winking at the blonde Obelisk.

"Hello...," the Obelisk girl with short red hair scoffed, "She's really tall and you're really short. She's really good at dueling and you're not. She's really hot and-,"

"JUST ASK HER!" Syrus pleaded, "It's true! I even have the letter right here!". He reached into his side pocket and pulled out the envelope from the locker room. The red head snatched it away and gave it to Alexis.

As she read the letter, Alexis frowned and glanced at the bound Slifer, "Syrus, my name isn't even spelled right. This is a fake,".

"You mean...I got a fake love letter? You're not really in love with me?" Syrus asked very quietly.

"That's not all...this is made out to Jaden Yuki!" the red haired pointed out, showing him the letter.

Syrus blinked and re-read the letter, "Aw man! I can't even get a fake love letter? Siho was right after all...," he groaned.

"I'm really sorry, Syrus," Alexis apologized. Even though he had trespassed on their territory, she couldn't help but feel bad for the little guy. But as she looked at him, a small idea began to form into her head, causing her to smile.

"Girls...remember that talk we had in the wading pool? About Jaden? I think I just found a way to see how good he really is...,"

-----

"So, why are we coming with you? The message said to come alone!"

Jaden looked behind him while Siho rowed the small boat they were on across the lake, "I dunno...I blame Christina. She's the one that invited herself and dragged you along,".

"Chrissy...remind me...," Siho panted for breath, "When this is over...to shock you with my taser,".

"Hush, Siho. Now stroke, stroke, stroke!"

"I'm stroking, I'm stroking!"

"No," Christina went limp and placed a hand over her arm, "I think I'm having a stroke!". Siho was about to take a paddle and smack her in the face but they came to the shore where four people were waiting for them.

One was Alexis, the second was Syrus still tied up, and the other two were Alexis' friends. Christina looked at the rope leash Sy wore and at the trio of Obelisk girls, "You three don't strike me as the kinky bondage type," she commented.

_That's great, Christina, make 'em mad before anything good can happen_ Siho thought bitterly as Jaden climbed out of the boat.

Syrus waved at his friend, "Hey, Jay...,".

"Uh...hi. So what happened here?"

"Well to put it short," Syrus lowered his head, "I'm just a big loser,".

"Told ya!"

"Siho!"

"Your friend trespassed into the Girls' dorms!" one of the two groupies informed Jaden. The Slifer blinked, "Is that true, Sy?" he asked.

"It's not like that at all!" the shorter Slifer protested.

The red haired girl nudged Syrus then looked at the others, "Now that you're here...as well as that _other_ Slifer boy, you're trespassing as well!". Alexis smirked, "That's right. Now here's the deal. If you beat me in a duel, you win your friends freedom...both of them," she glanced at Siho, "But if you don't win, we'll report this to Miss Fontaine,".

"...ok, so what's that, a weeks detention?" Siho asked.

"No...," Syrus' voice began to sound panicky, "The boys will get expelled!"

"WHAT!"

-Present-

Siho glared at Chrissy who had an excited look in her eyes, "If I get expelled, I'm gonna send you lots of emails..._really_ bad emails," he threatened.

"Don't get mad at me, you came along," she said dismissively.

"YOU DRAGGED ME ALONG!" he roared, grabbing her into a headlock.

"Guys, if you don't mind...," Jaden looked over his shoulder at them, "I'd like to start this now?".

"...sorry,"

"...yeah, sorry. Her fault,"

Syrus shook his head in misery while he watched Alexis and Jaden draw their hands, "Here we go...,"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: there's that one. hope it was good, and if it wasn't, I'm sorry. I'm still new to the rewrite of an anime thing. But I still go on, in hopes of getting better! Ja ne for now and lets pray for all three Slifer boys, shall we?**


	9. Dances with Heroes

**Dances with Heroes**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"You ready...?"

"You know it!"

"DUEL!" the two opponents shouted at the same time.

**J: 4000  
A: 4000**

Taking the first turn, Alexis drew a card from her deck and looked at her hand for a few moments. "Etoile Cyber (1200/1600), rise!" she commanded as she slapped a card onto her duel disk. The Slifers watched as a beautiful woman with long red hair appeared ontop of the water, spinning around and around on her tip toes before finally coming to a stop.

_Reminds me of mom..._ Christina thought at the sight of the monster.

"Next," Alexis took a card from her hand and slipped it into a slot, "I'll play a card facedown on the field,".

Jaden grinned, "Time to throwdown...," he drew his first card and looked over his hand, "I'll play the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1000) in attack mode, and he's going to attack your Etoile Cyber with Static Shockwave!"

Everyone watched as the Hero that had just appeared on the water's surface through a field of electric bolts, send an electric current straight towards Alexis' monster.

"I don't think so, Jaden! I play the trap card, Double' Pass'e!" Alexis declared just before the bolt made contact. The current bypassed the Etoile Cyber and hit Alexis head on, knocking away her Life Points.

**J: 4000  
A: 2400**

"What the hell was that about?" Siho demanded, leaning over a bit the edge to get a better look, "Oy! Blue girl, you do realize you just hit your own Life Points, right?" he called out. Alexis glanced at him, "I do realize that, because that's just what I wanted. Double' Pass'e makes his monster's attack go to me directly, in order for me to attack Jaden's Life Points directly as well! Go for it, Etoile Cyber!" she ordered.

Her creature rushed at Jaden, spinning around and around, her leg extended outward. Alexis smiled, "Also, when Etoile Cyber attacks, her attack points are raised by 600 points!".

The boat rocked as Jaden was hit directly by the Etoile Cyber (1800/1600), making his points go down as well.

**J: 2200  
A: 2400**

"Oooooh...," Christina nodded thoughtfully, earning questioning glances from Syrus and Siho. She, however, decided to ignore them and watch the duel some more.

Jaden lifted his head after the attack and looked straight at the monster, _She sacrificed her own Life Points to get to mine...that Alexis is something else alright._

"Well?" Alexis raised an eyebrow, "Impressed?".

Jaden chuckled as he stood up, "Impressed? I think I'm in love!".

"Oh that's sweet...too bad I have to crush you," Alexis snickered as she drew her card. She looked down at the card and smiled, "Oooh. I now summon Blade Skater (1400/1500)!". Another woman appeared on the lake's surface, this one dressed differently than the first one.

Etoile Cyber was dressed in red and a had a small tutu on it's hips, but Blade Skater had large skating blades **(Well no duh) **attached to it's arms, and a patch over its left eye. Christina blinked at the two monsters, "Man she's got a thing for dancing," she stood up and cupped her hands over her mouth, "Hey! Alexis, do you know how to do the dance from Thriller?" she called out.

The Obelisk duelist glanced at her, but ignored her, "Also, I'll play the spell card, Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to summon...Cyber Blader (2100/800)!". All the Slifers watched as the two dancer monsters spun around in a circle until a new monster stood in their place. This one looked similar to both of them: it had long blue hair, a red visor covering both it's eyes, along with the red and blue mixture of a leotard on it's body, followed by small ice skates on the feet.

"Now...Cyber Blader, attack Sparkman with Whirlwind Rage!"

The Fusion monster danced her way to Jaden's monster, spinning rapidly as it moved. As it neared, it stuck out it's leg and struck Sparkman in the neck, shattering it to holographic bits.

**J: 1700  
A: 2400**

"Way to go, Alexis!"

"Yeah, I knew when he beat Dr. Crowler, it was all luck!"

Jaden looked at the two other Obelisks, "Well then I'll be happy to prove you wrong. My draw now!". He drew his card and smiled, _Alright perfect!_. A slot on the end of his duel disk opened up and he slid the card into it, "I play the field spell card, Fusion Gate! This allows me to summon a Fusion Monster without the help of Polymerization. So...," he took two cards from his hand and showed them, "I'll fuse Avian and Burstanitrix to summon the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!".

Once again, his faithful monsters appeared on the field, only to be merged into the large, winged Hero with a dragon head on it's right arm. Christina sweatdropped, "Jaden, I know you love that card, but how about some originality?" she muttered underbreath.

Alexis' smile remained on her face, "Ok. Looks like it's one Fusion Monster against another, Jaden? That's alright by me. It's a shame though, because since they're both have the exact same Attack Points, they're just going to destroy one another,".

"Hehehe," Jaden grinned, "Not after I play this, Koshido Spirit!"

A large glowing circle appeared on the water and spread outward away from the boat as he inserted it into a slot. Siho looked at it, "Ok...so what's that do?"

"When this is played, Wingman can take down any monster that has the same number of attack points as him, without being destroyed! Also, there's his superpower...he can deal damage to your Life Points equal to that of the destroyed monsters attack points! Go now and attack Cyber Blader!"

His Elemental Hero raised it's dragon head arm and a large fireball began to grow between the jaws, then launched it at the enemy monster. The ball of flames hit Cyber Blader dead on, but instead of obliterating her, the fireball diminished and she was still on the field.

"Hey...how'd she survive my attack?" Jaden asked Alexis, a little confused.

_Someone hasn't done their homework_ Alexis thought with a smirk, "Cyber Blader's special ability allows her to not be destroyed when there is only one enemy monster on the field," she explained slowly.

"But...but that means...,"

"That _neither _of us lose any Life Points,"

**J: 1700  
A: 2400**

_No wonder this girl is in Obelisk Blue...she's pretty damn good. I wouldn't mind dueling her in the future_ Christina thought with an excited look in her eyes.

"Well I gotta admit," Jaden sighed, "You got me there, Alexis,"

Alexis scoffed as she drew her next card, "Oh when I get you, Jaden, you'll know it,". She looked at the card and chuckled, "Like now for example. I play the spell card Fusion Weapon and equip it to my Cyber Blader!"

Her monster's right hand glowed and changed into a strange shape, that which resembled a two pronged spear with electrical currents flowing through it. The Cyber Blader (3600/2300) looked at Jaden with a smug look.

"Uh oh...guys, you might wanna brace yourself for this one," Jaden advised his fellow Slifers. Syrus whimpered and held onto the edges of the boat while Christina latched onto Siho.

"Chrissy, get off!"

"No! He said brace, so I'm bracing! Deal with it, Siho!"

"Now, Cyber Blader, attack Flame Wingman with Trident Shock!" Alexis ordered, pointing to the winged monster. Cyber Blader aimed her new arm directly at Wingman and seconds later a lightning bolt shot outward towards the the Flame Wingman. The Elemental Hero roared in pain before disappearing into bits and pieces from the field.

**J: 200  
A: 2400**

"Oh crap!" Siho shouted, "We're so frickin' screwed!". Christina patted him on the shoulder, "Tell Aunt Ren hi for me," she sighed. Syrus looked at her, "You know you're in trouble too, Christina,". She looked at him, "What do ya mean?". Syrus pulled out his PDA and pushed a button, "Not only are the boys not supposed to be on the girl's area, no member of a different rank is allowed on another ranks territory without their permission,".

"You mean...,"

"Yep, you could get expelled too,"

Christina slowly turned to Jaden, "For the love of God, win this duel 'cuz if you don't, I'm gonna drown you right after this duel!" she screamed.

"Oh...looks like your Life Points are running a little low, Jaden," Alexis commented, "I do hope neither one of you have unpacked your bags yet,".

"Yeah, because if you lose, you're all getting expelled!" one of her friends added in a sing-song voice.

Jaden frowned, "That's not gonna happen...I promise you guys,".

_He really shouldn't make any promises he can't deliver _Alexis thought frowning.

_I probably shouldn't make any promises I can't deliver_ Jaden thought as he looked at his duel disk _The only card I have out is Fusion Gate, and I have two cards in my hand. The end of this duel depends on what I draw right here, right now!_

He drew his card and his eyes sparkled, "Perfect...,"

Alexis blinked, seeing the look in his eyes, "Hm?"

"First off, I summon the Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) to the field!". He placed the card on the field and the bulky rock Hero appeared in front of the Slifer boat. Jaden's smile grew, "Also, I play the spell card Monster Reborn to bring back my Elemental Hero Sparkman!". A torrent of charged wind blew across the lake as the blue and gold Hero appeared next to Clayman.

Alexis frowned, "What difference will _they _make? My Cyber Blader has way more attack points than either of them!" she reminded, "Not one of them will last against my monster!"

"Heheh...maybe they won't, but I'll use the effect of Fusion Gate to call forth someone who _can_. Arise, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!" Jaden commanded. His Sparkman and Clayman stood back to back and began to spin around until a thunderbolt shot down from the sky and struck them both. With an almight battle-cry, a huge monster appeared in their places.

It looked like a modified Clayman, only it had yellow pieces of armor on the upper half of it's body, purple armor on it's lower half, and a giant sparkling orb in the middle of it's chest. Christina stared in awe of the giant, "Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the camel!" she shouted as the waves picked up on the lake, rocking both of the boats.

"Hate to break it to you," Alexis glanced at the new monster, then at Jaden, "But my monster still has way more attack points by 3600,".

Jaden sighed loudly, "I know, I know...but you see, my Thunder Giant has a special ability. He can automatically destroy any monster on the field with an original attack strength less than it's own...,".

"Original attack points..?" Alexis murmured.

The brunette nodded, "Meaning a monster with attack points that didn't have any enhancement whatsoever,"

"But...," Alexis began to understand, "Before I played Fusion Weapon, her attack points were 2100!".

Jaden grinned, "That's right. So that means that your Cyber Blader is automatically destroyed!".

Thunder Giant roared and flew to the Cyber Blader, then placed it's hand over her head. A bright light erupted from his palm and Alexis' monster was destroyed in seconds.

"Also, the coolest thing about this is...," Jaden looked straight at her, "I still have his attack phase to use. So now I'll attack your Life Points directly with him! Go Thunder Giant, attack her with Voltic Thunder!"

Once again, Thunder Giant's hand glowed and a torrent of electricity flew outward and rammed directly into Alexis. She fell to her knees as her Life Points were diminished.

**J: 200  
A: 0000**

"YES!" Christina hopped up and down, whooping at the top of her lungs at the victory. Syrus yelped as he tried to keep the boat under control, "Don't rock the boat, Christina!" he pleaded.

-----

"A deal's a deal. I won so me and the others are free to go,"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah, I know. We'll keep quiet about what went on here, Jaden...,".

Her red haired friend scowled and put her hands on her hips, "If you ask me, we should report them all to the Chancellor!".

The blonde Obelisk glared hard at her, "Well no one _asked_ you, so no! I lost to Jaden fair and square, so the deal has to be honored,".

Christina nodded slowly, "Yep, that's the way things are. Now can we please go back...I'm tired as hell,". Siho looked at her, "You didn't do anything!" he scolded. Christina slugged him in the stomach, making him double-over gasping for air, "Not true,".

"Yeah we should go...later!" Jaden and Syrus grabbed the oars and began to row to the other side of the lake as Christina lounged lazily at the front end of the boat.

Alexis smiled as she watched them go, _Even if I did win. I don't think I could've turned them in. This place is alot more interesting with those four around..._

Not too far away, Crowler was treading water angrily. He had seen the entire duel and couldn't believe that his plan didn't work at all like he had planned. "Lucky brat...he got out of this trap, but I'll find a way to expell him!" he muttered before looking around the dark lake, "As, soon as I find a way back home...,"


	10. Oh Joy! Tests

**Oh Joy! Tests**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

After the invigorating, and near heart attack giving, duel on the Obelisk lake, Jaden, Syrus, Siho and Christina endured the days of boring classes once again. About a week had gone by when they all recieved the news that they would be getting their Duel Exams and every student at the academy would have to take a series of different tests to see how well they had progressed so far.

However...a couple of Slifer Reds really didn't like to have a lot of pressure on them, so they began to try their own methods of preparation...

-----

"Please, let us pass our tests today...,"

"Hear us, almighty God of Egypt...,"

"We wanna pass our tests. Otherwise, I'll be wearing this red blazer forever!"

"You complaining the color red to the big guy?"

"Uh...what I mean is, nothing's wrong with red, it looks great on you, Slifer!".

Both Siho and Syrus knelt before a large poster of Slifer the Sky Dragon, wearing headbands as candles were lit in front of them, just underneath the poster of the Egyptian God. Apparently, these two Slifer's didn't have much faith in their test taking skills.

"Almighty Sky Dragon, I don't care if I pass to the next rank, I just wanna pass my tests...," Siho murmured slowly.

"Oh Slifer...if you can hear us and would heed our plea, give us a sign!" Syrus pleaded, clapping his hands together.

A shrill ringing sound made them both yell and jump a few inches off the ground. Syrus turned and sighed in relief, "Just the alarm clock...,". He walked over where the clock was residing, which was right next to Jaden's head, "...and as usual, Jaden sleeps through it,".

Siho removed his headband, "He probably went deaf a couple of days ago because of it," he offered, grinning.

"WRONG!" Jaden yelled, smacking Syrus in the face, knocking the poor Slifer reeling backward. Siho managed to catch him as Jaden rolled over onto his side.

"...I played a trap...,".

Syrus groaned, "Why can't he ever sleep in defense mode? It'd be a lot safer for all of us!".

"Duh, Syrus...,".

Both Slifers looked up to see Chumley looking down on them, head propped up on his arm, "You should let him catch some Z's, and make our day easier. Get what I'm saying?". Syrus shook his head slowly, "Chumley, I don't get _anything_ you're saying,".

Siho crossed his arms, "He means is, that it'd be better to let Jaden sleep in today. You see, we have two different tests today. A Written Test and then a Field Test. The Written Test should be pretty easier, but if one of us duels Jaden in our Field Test, then it's like going up against an Obelisk...,".

Chumley nodded, "Bingo. I _don't_ wanna duel the same guy that beat Dr Crowler. No way, dude. _Now_ do you get what I'm sayin'?"

"Yeah, I get what you're saying alright!" Syrus glared at Chumley, "It's no wonder you were held back two years in a row!"

_Easy Sy..._ Siho thought as the Slifer ran out of the dorm for the test.

Chumley sighed, "Oh well...Plan B, I guess," he glanced at Siho, "You should get going. Less time you spend here, more time you get for the test,".

The black haired duelist raised an eyebrow at him, "For a repeated flunk, you sure are helpful with stuff, Koala-boy...,"

-----

The written test had begun and so far, only Syrus and Christina were the Slifer's that came on time, and Siho and Jaden came in seperately, but around the same time...late. Christina was tapping her pencil against the desk when she felt someone sit down next to her.

She glanced to the side and shook her head, "About time, Siho," she whispered out of the corner of her mouth. Her friend grabbed his pencil and looked over his test, "Bite me, Berg. I was doing some last minute preparations for this thing,".

"Seance?"

"What if it was?"

"You gotta study more,"

"Why the hell do you care?"

"Because my mom and dad were hard on me for studying along with dueling, so I'm not gonna let it go to waste!"

"Siho! Christina!"

They both jumped in their seats and looked to the front of the room where Professor Banner was looking at them. "Unless you're finished with that test of yours, I suggest you keep going. You only have 45 minutes left to complete it,".

"Sorry sir,"

"Sorry...,"

-----

After what seemed like hours, Christina and Siho both let their pencils drop to the desks and sighed in relief. "Man, that was tough," Christina groaned, rubbing her eyes, "I hate it when they pull crap like this on us in tests...,"

"Well the area of effect cards didn't so well for me. I only got a few in my deck...,"

A loud choking sound made them and nearby students look up towards Banner, who was clearing his throat. He looked at them, hands behind his back, "Well children, today's written test is now over. Now, please walk, _don't_ run to the card shop to collect your new rare cards for your field test,".

Christina's and Siho's eyes lit up and they began to drool, "Rare cards...?" they said together.

"They're here?" a nearby student cried.

Banner blinked a few times, "Oh dear...,".

What happened next, could only be described as a stampede. Every Ra, Slifer, and Obelisk student climbed over each other as they all raced for the door. Christina had an early lead, but thanks to some obnoxious Obelisks, she found herself lying on the floor of the classroom, next to Siho.

Bastion shook his head at them both and shook Syrus' shoulder, "You and Jaden may want to give a serious thought to waking up...,".

"AH!" Syrus jerked awake and looked at his bare desk, "Aw man...I failed, didn't I?" he moaned. Jaden yawned and grinned, "Sy, if there was a test in Melodrama, you'd definitely get an A,". Their Ra friend cleared his throat, "I just thought you should know that the new shipment of rare cards comes today, and they should be at the card shack right now...,"

"WHAT? NEW CARDS, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL US?" Syrus shrieked. Bastion smiled slightly and leaned against the desk, "Because, everyone wants all the best rare cards for themselves for the Field Test...,"

"You don't have to tell us that...,"

Bastion glanced back to the two fallen Slifers who were sitting on the floor cross-legged, looking very agitated, "Are you two alright?" he asked. Siho grunted and crossed his arms over his chest, "Those fools are just lucky that they didn't break anything...," he said darkly.

"Oi, Siho...knock off the threats," Christina murmured, waving her hand.

Syrus looked at the Ra, "Hey, if everyone wants the new cards so badly, why aren't you going for them like the others, Bastion?".

"Please, one errant card and the delicate balance of my deck would be completely thrown off...,".

"Well our's wouldn't!" Syrus, Siho and Christina shouted at the same time. Jaden yawned again and stood up, stretching, "Well if you guys are so bent on going, let's go already!"

-----

"Um...I think we're late...,"

The four Slifers stood still at the card shop's entrance, only to see no one else around, save a counter girl. There were no other students, and no indication of the shipment of new rare cards that were mentioned just minutes before.

Christina lowered her head, "Aw crap...,". Siho patted her on the shoulder in sympathy, "It's ok...I don't get any new cards either," he said soothingly. His friend pouted, "Yeah, but I wanted to kick your ass in a duel with new cards...,".

"You just lost a sympathetic friend...,"

"Hey!"

While the two friends were bickering, Syrus and Jaden walked to the counter, hoping for a miracle. Jaden cleared his throat, "Excuse me, counter-girl? You have any cards left?" he asked hopefully.

The counter girl nodded, "Sure, but all we have are the normal packs now...," she reached under the counter and slid a single booster pack towards them, "Here ya go,".

Syrus and Jaden stared in horror at the one pack, "We said some not one!" they moaned at the same time. The blue haired Slifer shook his head, "Oh man...I'm gonna fail this! I slept through my Written Test, and now I'm gonna flunk my Field Test because I can't upgrade my deck!".

"Then go ahead and take the pack, Syrus,"

He looked at Jaden who was grinning for one reason or another, "You mean it? You'd let me have the last pack they have?" he asked slowly.

Siho and Christina glared at the two, then glanced at each other, feeling the exact same thing.

"Lucky brat,"

"We need cards too...,"

-----

Even though they weren't able to snag any of the rare cards, the four Slifers still had to go through their Field Tests. Siho looked somewhat pale while Christina looked like she was ready to run a marathon. Siho glanced at her, "Why are you so jumpy?" he muttered.

"Cuz I gotta duel coming up...same with you, Siho," she looked at him and frowned, "You ok, you don't look so hot,". Siho waved her off, "Just my stomach...I think Chumley made some bad meals for breakfast...,"

"Well, get over it, soldier!" Christina said dismissively, slapping him on the back, "We got duels, and we can't get outta them. Besides, you bail out, I'll just call your mom and tell her that you chickened out!"

"...you wouldn't dare,"

Christina grinned slyly at him and held up her hand as though it were a phone, "Hey Aunt Niri...guess what? Siho wussed out because he had a widdle tummyache! Yeah, I know he _is_ a wuss!".

Siho glared daggers at her, "You do...and I swear to all the Egyptian Gods that I will beat the living crap outta you,". His friend was about to retort when she glanced off to the side to the large arena, "Hold that thought...my duels up,"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Well I REALLY hope this works so far. I'm still very new to this, as I've mentioned before.**


	11. Warrior Princess vs Machine King

**Warrior Princess vs Machine King**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: hey guys, it's me again. sorry for the wait...technical difficulties have been fixed now and here i am! Now, before I get started, I would like to announce that I'm doing a favor to a friend and reviewer and putting his OC into this story...starting with this chapter! Here we go!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Christina walked into the designated part of the arena, attaching her Duel Disk to her arm and looking over her deck. She had modified it some since she arrived and hope it would turn out well. She sighed and looked around, her opponent hadn't come by yet.

"Man...where is this guy?" she muttered, scratching the side of her head, "I'm all set and ready to kick his ass, but he's not here yet!"

"Hey, calm down...jeez, excuse me for getting the message late," a voice behind her said irritably. Christina turned around to see a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old with blue eyes and spikey, dirty blonde hair wearing a Ra Yellow dorm uniform. His deck and disk were already on his arm.

"Good, you showed up. Name's Christina Berg and I'll be the one kicking your ass in our duel today,"

The boy smirked, "I doubt that, Miss Berg...,"

"Oh yeah? Well time will tell. So, how about you be polite and tell me your name?"

The smirk on the boys face faded slightly, "My name is Jordan Rhodes...happy now?"

Christina blinked, "Did you say _Rhodes_? As in, Alexis _Rhodes_?" she asked slowly. Jordan nodded, "Yes. She's my older cousin and right now, I think she's looking at this duel waiting to see which one of us comes out on top,".

"Well then let's not disappoint her...let's duel!"

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

"If you don't mind...ladies first!" Christina said as she drew her hand, "Hmm...I'll start this off by summoning Amazoness Paladin (1700/300) in Attack Mode and then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn,"

Jordan watched as a tan woman with a long, curved sword appeared on the field, her short tan robe fluttering around her. He grinned as he drew his card, "Heard about you...the girl who uses Amazons in her deck. Hardly anyone uses those cards...,"

"Some still do...,"

"Yeah, but not as well as Mai Valentine from Battle City...,"

"...just shut up and use your turn,"

Jordan chuckled and looked over his hand, "Guess I touched a nerve. Oh well. First, I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards from my deck," Jordan paused and looked at the two new cards, "Hmm...I summon Drillago (1600/1100) in attack mode!" he declared as a large, metallic monster with drills sticking out of almost every body part.

Christina grinned _Nice try kid...but not strong enough to take down my Paladin_...

"Drillago! Attack Christina directly!"

"What the-?!"

The Slifer girl grunted as Drillago jabbed from all sides, cutting past her monster and into her points. As the Machine-type monster went back to Jordan, Christina glared at him, "Hello! I have a monster on the field, how did you do that?!" she demanded.

Jordan crossed his arms, "Drillago has the ability to bypass my opponent's monsters to attack you directly, but only if the monsters have 1600 or more ATK points," he explained, "So, I don't need to take down your Paladin in order to hurt you. I'll place one card facedown and end my turn,"

**C: 2400  
J: 4000**

_Kid know's his stuff...but let's see if I can teach him a few new things_ Christina thought as she drew her card.

-----

In the stands, Siho still felt a little pain in his stomach. He groaned, "Damn Slifer food...never does fit well with me...,".

"Excuse me,"

Siho turned to see Alexis walk up to his side, watching the duel between Christina and Jordan. He winced and looked back, "Didn't think the Queen of Obelisk Blue liked to watch Slifer's and Ra's duel," he muttered. Alexis glared and slugged him in the shoulder, "I'm nothing like the title suggests, so be quiet. I just wanted to see my cousin duel,"

"Cousin?"

"The Ra over there...Jordan," she said, nodding towards the duo. Siho frowned, "That's a relative of yours? Huh...always thought if a Rhodes were in any rank, it'd be always be Obelisk,". Again, Alexis glared and slugged his shoulder, "Shaddup,".

"Ow...," Siho rubbed his shoulder, "So how come he's not in Obelisk with you?" he asked. Alexis' eyes softened and she leaned on the railing, "He wanted to be, and Crowler was more than willing to accept him, but he said he wanted to prove himself to be in Obelisk...no special treatment,".

"Again, I ask...a relative of _yours_?"

Once more, she slugged him, "Just because I'm called the Blue Queen doesn't mean I'm full of myself, Zolaro,".

"Ow...for a chick, you sure do hit hard...,"

"Want me to hit you again?"

"..."

"Thought so,"

-----

"Alright, next up...I summon Zombrya the Dark (2100/500) in attack mode and I'll have him attack your Drillago!"

Christina smiled as her dark robed and bone covered armor appeared on the field and dashed across towards the drill covered machine. Jordan shook his head, "No no...I play a Trap Card! Rare Metalmorph!"

The two duelists watched as Drillago began to shine brightly and as Drillago connected it's fist with the first drill, the two of them exploded into bits and pieces.

"Oh c'mon! What now?" Christina whined, her shoulders slumping. Jordan chuckled again, "Rare Metalmorph is a Trap Card that powers up a Machine-Type monster by 500 points, making my Drillago equal in power to your Zombrya the Dark, destroying the both of them!".

"That may be, but you left yourself open! Amazoness Paladin, attack him directly!"

Jordan brought his arms up just as the female warrior appeared before him and brought down her blade, cutting into him. He looked up at Christina, "Small price to pay...,"

**C: 2400  
J: 2300**

"If you say so...my turn's over. Beat that,"

"Oh I plan to," Jordan drew his card, "Hmmm...alright, let's see if I can do this right. I play Monster Reborn to call back my Drillago from the Graveyard, but he won't be staying long. I sacrifice him to summon one of my best monsters. Jinzo (2400/1500) come to me, my friend!" he cried.

Christina stepped back a foot or so as a large humanoid creature appeared in Drillago's place, dressed in yellow and green armor, it's face distorted and covered by bits of green metal while it's head was covered by a large electric dome.

"_That _card? Why did it have to be that card...?"

"So you know about Jinzo? Good, so I won't have to explain what he does! Jinzo, attack Amazoness Paladin now with Cyber Energy Shock!"

A large orb of crackling energy appeared in Jinzo's hands and shot directly into the middle of the Paladin's chest, sending her screaming to the Graveyard.

**C: 1700  
J: 2300**

"Not bad...but I'm still here, boyo!"

"I'm aware of that. Next, I'll add the Spell Card, Amplifier to Jinzo and then I'll place three cards facedown,"

Christina frowned as a different, and somewhat larger dome appeared on Jinzo's head, covered with surging electricity, "Ooook...so what does that do?"

"Amplifier is a card made just for Jinzo. When it's equipped to him, the one controlling Jinzo, namely me, can negate his Trap Negating effect and activate Traps on the field. However, only my Traps can work, so don't even try to use yours...,"

_Daaaang...didn't even know they made a card like that..._ Christina drew her card and looked at her hand, "Uh...hmmm...I summon Amazoness Blowpiper (800/1500) in Attack Mode, then I play a Spell card known as Amazoness Spellcaster! This allows an Amazon monster of mine to switch it's ATK with another monster on the field, and since it's a Magic Card, Jinzo's effect doesn't work on it! So say goodbye to Jinzo's strength!"

Amazoness Blowpiper (800/1500) - (2400/1500)  
Jinzo (2400/1500) - (800/1500)

"Amazoness Blowpiper, attack Jinzo with Poison Dart!"

Her tattooed woman knelt down and brought a long tube to her mouth, then with a deep breath, she blew hard into the tubing. A small dart shot forward and nailed Jinzo right in the neck, making him explode into bits and pieces.

**C: 1700  
J: 700**

"I'll end my turn there...,"

Jordan lightly glared at her and drew his card, "Hmm...ok then. This is where it ends! I activate a facedown card of mine, Call of the Haunted! This allows me to bring back a monster from my Graveyard and I choose Jinzo! Next, I'll play my second Amplifier and add it to Jinzo!"

"Oh c'mon...this is getting old!" Christina whined.

"Well too bad! I activate another facedown card of mine...Ring of Destruction! When this card is played, both players get dealt damage equal to that of the chosen monsters ATK points. Jinzo, I'm sorry, but you know how it is...,".

Both players watched as a large ring with round, red beads appeared around Jinzo's neck. Christina gulped, _I can't counter! Oh well...at least I can take this kid with me when this goes off_

"Now...to make sure I'm not in any danger, I activate my Spell Card...Ring of Defense!"

"What?!"

A large ring, similar to that around Jinzo's neck, only green and gold appeared in front of Jordan. The Ra crossed his arms, "You gave me a good duel, Christina...hope to duel you again,"

"...same here Jordan,"

Seconds later, Jinzo exploded and Christina took full damage while the Ring of Defense protected Jordan from the blast.

"Aw man...,"

**C: 0  
J: 700**

She turned off her disk and walked up to Jordan, "...you gotta show me what else you got in that deck, Rhodes," she said quietly, with a grin. Jordan looked at her, then grinned as well, "You got it...rematch later?"

"Hell ya,"

-----

In the stands, Alexis smiled, "Glad to see that he hasn't lost his touch...,"

"Ohhh...,"

"Oh c'mon, Siho, I didn't hit you that hard...," she turned and saw that he was kneeling on the floor, "Uh...you ok?"

Siho rapidly shook his head, "Noo...I think Chumley's breakfast had something bad in it...,"


	12. Jaden vs Chazz: Redux

**Jaden vs Chazz: Redux**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"You're kidding me...,"

"Nope. He ran from here straight to the bathroom and hasn't come out yet,"

"...hehehe,"

Alexis looked away from the Arena and towards Syrus and Christina, the latter's face turning red as she held back laughter. Syrus frowned, "Don't laugh, Christina, he could be really sick!". The Slifer girl nodded and waved him away, "I know...I know...I'm sorry. It's just that it's so funny...anyone go and check on him since he went in?" she gasped between giggles.

Syrus shrugged, "I saw a few teachers go in, but they left a few moments later because of some kinda smell...I think he should've taken some air freshener with him," he commented. Christina nodded rapidly, "Yep!"

Her fellow Slifer looked to the side, to Jordan, "So who's this? I saw you guys duel...you almost had him, Chrissy,". Christina glared at him, "Don't call me that...anyhoo, this is Jordan Rhodes, Alexis' cousin,".

"Wow...didn't know Alexis had a cousin...,"

Jordan put his arms behind his head, "Well now ya do, so now what?"

Syrus pointed to the arena, "We watch Jaden duel I guess...Siho can handle himself, hopefully...,"

"Knowing him, he'll be fine until the toilet paper runs low...,"

Alexis made room as Jordan walked up to her side, his arms on the railing, "Seems like you made a new friend on the dueling field, Jordan,". He shrugged, "Not sure about a new friend, but hey, new dueling rival,".

"Rival, friend...the line can be blurred sometimes...,"

"If you say so, Cuz,"

-----

"Say what?!" Jaden blinked, "I'm dueling an Obelisk _and_ it's Chazz?!".

Crowler smirked as he walked between Jaden and Chazz, "That's right Jaden. Since you talk such a big game, I've pulled some strings for you to give you the challenge you deserve. So congratulations! You'll be dueling one of the top duelists in the Academy...what an _honor_! I do hope you managed to snag a lot of today's rare cards to make sure your deck is up to snuff,"

"But...I...uh...,"

"What's wrong, Jaden? Aren't you even going to thank me?"

-----

Syrus gulped as he and the others watched the event unfold_ I got a bad feeling about this..._

He wasn't the only one with these thoughts. Bastion was thinking similar things at the same time_, This is clearly a trap. Only a cavalier fool would accept the challenge_

"I'll do it!"

Christina squealed and wrapped her arms around Syrus' neck, "GO JADEN! KICK HIS ASS AND SHOW HIM WHAT SLIFERS ARE MADE OF!" she screamed. Jordan, Bastion, and Alexis stared at her like she was a mental patient.

-----

"Alright Chazz...get your game on! We're gonna finish what we started at Obelisk Arena!" Jaden declared, putting his deck into his disk. Crowler rolled his eyes, "Indeed...in front of the whole student body so everyone can watch...," he murmured.

Chazz grinned wickedly, "Yeah...watch you get slammed by me,".

"DUEL!"

**J: 4000  
C: 4000**

"No excuses this time, Chazz!"

"Bring it, Slifer Slacker!"

"Oh it is brought!" Jaden drew his card and immediately heard a soft cooing sound. He glanced at it and smiled, "Well well...if it isn't my favorite furry friend!". He looked at Chazz with a grin, _Kuriboh, you're in for a treat, because we're about to bring down some serious hurt on Chazz!_

Jaden placed a card onto his field, "You remember this guy, doncha Chazz? From our first duel? Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000)!".

The large, rounded Hero appeared on the field, kneeling and arms crossed. Everyone, the kids in the stand, and Crowler with Sheppard in the large viewing box looked hard, hoping to see what would happen next.

"...and he'd like to get reacquainted,"

"Hehehhe...," Chazz chuckled, "Not after he sees what I got for him. Don't think that oversized pile of pebbles stands a chance against me, Jaden...or against _this_," he drew his next card and looked at it, _Thanks for the rare card, Crowler..._

"Fresh off the presses, Slifer Slacker! Magical Mallet!"

Jaden blinked a few times as a strange card hologram appeared on the field, "Uh...what's that?"

"It's a redo, Slacker. All the cards in my hand I don't want, I put back in my deck. Then I shuffle and redraw...pretty cool, don't ya think?"

-----

Syrus' eyes went wide, "No way! A rare card on the first turn?". Bastion frowned, "And a very dangerous one at that, Syrus. With Magical Mallet, Chazz can virtually pick which cards go into his hand...,"

Christina glanced at the two and looked back at Jaden _C'mon Jaden...make our God proud!_ she pleaded mentally.

-----

"I didn't even get to the best part yet!" Chazz snickered as he held up a card he had drawn from his deck. Jaden couldn't believe it. It was Magical Mallet again! Chazz inserted the Spell Card into his disk, "Looks I just drew Magical Mallet, so that means I can use it's effect again and again...and that comes in handy...know why?"

"Uh...no, not really," Jaden admitted, not sure of what to expect.

"It comes in handy when I'm looking for _this_! V-Tiger Jet (1600/1800), sharpen your claws for Attack Mode!"

A metallic tiger, one that would be called similar to something from Voltron or Gundam appeared on the field, looking as though it were ready to pounce.

"And there's a lot more where that came from!" Chazz declared, inserting another card into his disk, "It's called Frontline Base! It lets me summon another Level 4 or lower monster to the field this turn, and I have just the one! W-Wing Catapult (1300/1500) in Attack Mode! Gentlemen, start your engines!"

Beside the metal tiger jet, a large blue metal craft appeared, only this one didn't seem to have any head or body parts like it's companion.

"Now merge!" Chazz ordered. The two Machine-type monsters soared high into the air and seemed to change shape before their very eyes. Chazz grinned as the two Machines came together and formed a tank with the Tiger on top, and the Catapult underneath it, "Alright! VW-Tiger Catapult (2000/2100)! But that's not all...he still has his special ability!"

"That's not good...," Jaden muttered, backing away slightly.

"By sending one of my cards to the Graveyard, I can force one of your monsters into attack mode!"

Jaden could only watch in stunned silence as his Clayman was brought out of his defensive stance into an attack position. Chazz grinned wider, "So now after the Heat-Seeker Blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your Life Points are toast!"

The Clayman exploded as the mortar blasts from the Tiger Catapult went off all around it. Groans echoed around the arena as Jaden's Life Points went down.

**J: 2800  
C: 4000**

-----

"My goodness! Looks like Jaden can't play with the big boys after all," Crowler observed, secretly happy that his plan was working flawlessly, "I guess he's not as good as everyone thinks he is...,"

Chancellor Sheppard didn't reply. He only watched the duel continue on in silence, not really listening to a word Crowler said.

-----

"I'll finish up with one card facedown...,"

Jaden shrugged, "Yeah yeah...you finish up, Chazz, 'cause I'm just getting _warmed_ up," he said as he drew a card, "Speaking of heating things up, here's a guy who knows how to do just that...Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in defense mode, followed by one card facedown!"

Everyone in the audience watched as the electrified Hero appeared on the field, arms crossed and on one knee, just like Clayman had before.

"I'll end my turn with that,"

-----

"Oh you gotta be kidding me! He's gotta be able to do something else!"

Bastion looked at Christina who was hopping up and down in her place and looked back at the duel, "Not much he can do, right now. What with all the new, rare cards Chazz seems to have in his possession,"

"It's not fair!" Syrus added. Christina nodded and pulled him in to tight hug, "I know! It's so sad!"

Alexis frowned deeply, _This is a complete mismatch! How can Jaden fight back if he doesn't know what he's fighting against?!_

-----

"Ready for Round 2, Slifer Slime?" Chazz taunted as he drew another card, "Well X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) is, and thanks to Frontline Base, so is Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300!". Jaden groaned as two more Machine monsters appeared on the field next to VW-Tiger Catapult.

-----

"X _and _Z? That can only mean one thing!" Syrus cried.

Christina looked at him, "What does it mean?" she asked. Syrus looked to Bastion and Alexis, who both nodded in silent agreement.Christina shooked them slightly, "Oi...what does that mean? What's gonna happen?"

"Just watch and see," Jordan said quietly, eyes focused on the duel.

-----

"Next, I'll play my face-down Trap Card, Call of the Haunted!" Chazz glared at Jaden, "In case you missed that class, Slifer Slacker, this allows me to bring back one monster back from my Graveyard and summon it to the field! And I choose my Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600)!"

-----

"It's him!" Syrus shouted.

Bastion leaned forward, "He has it!"

"Has _what_?! WHAT IS THAT?!" Christina shook Jordan, "SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THAT IS!". The Ra pushed her away and glared, "That monster is a powerful part of a Union monster! If it combines with all the right parts, it becomes extremely powerful!" he snapped.

-----

"Now, I combine all three, X, Y, and Z monsters to create the all powerful XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)!" Chazz declared, as all three Machines converged into an almighty assault vehicle, "But wait, Jaden, there's more...well _less_. Sure, they say two is better than one, but in this case I have to disagree, especially when it involves the ultimate! I converge these two great and powerful monsters to create the VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon (3000/2800)!"

-----

Christina gasped as the two monsters merged together to become a tall look-alike to one of the robots from the old animes she used to watch with her father, "HOLY CRAP IN A FRICKIN' BUCKET OF CRAP! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" she screamed, pointing at the monster.

Alexis rolled her eyes and moved a few inches away from her, "It's one of the most powerful monsters in the card game...some say that not only does it rival the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, they say that Seto Kaiba himself had some of these cards himself...,"

"Wow...dude...Jaden's in trouble...,"

Syrus looked at her, "I thought you were rooting for him?!"

"Well I was until Mecha-Godzilla over there made an appearance!"

-----

"Sort of makes your Sparkman look like a spark plug huh?" Chazz asked as the Sparkman disappeared in a blurry spin, "Or at least it _did_...,"

"My Sparkman!"

Chazz snickered, "Did I forget to mention this monster's ability? He allows me to remove one of your cards from the field once per turn! Hehehehehe...and if you think _that_'s impressive, wait until you see his attack!" Chazz pointed at Jaden, "An attack that will hit your Life Points directly!"

"Don't think so, Chazz!" Jaden cried, pushing a button on his disk, "I activate a Trap! A Hero Emerges!"

"A Hero _what_?"

"Emerges, Chazz! Because you now get to randomly select one card from my hand and if it's a monster, I get to play it! So go ahead and choose!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Chazz glared hard at his opponent's hand and pointed at one, "There! The far right!" he declared. Jaden scanned his hand and smiled, "Sweet! Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in Defense Mode!"

Chazz shook his head as the female Hero in red appeared on the field, "It won't matter, Slacker! When Dragon Catapult Cannon attacks, I can choose the position of your monster, and I choose Attack Mode, which means, not only will she be zapped...,"

Jaden braced himself as beams of energy shot forward from the guns of the Cannon Catapult and obliterated his Heroine.

"...so does your Life Points!"

**J: 1000  
C: 4000**

-----

"Jaden!"

"C'mon! Kick his ass, Jaden! Make a comeback!" Christina shouted, clapping her hands together, "Rock him like a hurricane!". Jordan looked at her, eyebrow raised, "Rock him...like a hurricane?" he asked slowly, "That could be taken to be wrong in so many ways, Christina...,"

"Bite me, Rhodes, I said what I said!"

-----

Jaden slowly climbed to his feet, still recovering from the attack while Chazz folded his arms across his chest, looking down upon him.

"Aww...what's wrong, Jaden? Test anxiety? Don't worry...it'll all be over _very_ soon," he taunted. The Slifer snorted, "No way, Chazz! I got a whole army of vicious monsters in my deck just waiting to get at you! This isn't over...it's just barely starting!"

He drew his next card and stared at it, "Huh...?"

-Flashback-

"Heeheehee...I know I said we were out of cards, but I did manage to save a few, for nice, polite young students who help out with car trouble!" Dorothy, the short plump woman of the card shop handed Jaden a booster pack she had taken from her pocket, "Maybe you could put them to good use,"

"AW THAT'S BULLCRAP MAN!" Siho was being held back by Christina, "What about us?!"

"Down boy! Heel! Heel!"

-End Flashback-

"What do you think, Winged Kuriboh?" Jaden whispered, looking at his furry monster. A soft hooting sound reached his ears and he knew what he had to do in order to win this, "Well alright..if you say so. I summon Winged Kuriboh (300/200) in Defense Mode!"

As soon as the little puffball with wings showed up, all the girls in the audience 'awwed' at it's adorable appearance. Even Christina fell victim to it's cuteness. She even tried to leap off the balcony to get to it, but was quickly restrained by both Alexis and Jordan.

"And then I'll end my turn with a facedown," Jaden finished, placing a card into a seperate slot.

-----

"That's it? All he's been doing is playing Defense!" Syrus moaned, covering his eyes, "I can't watch this...,"

_I hope you know what you're doing, Jaden..._ Alexis thought as she pulled Christina back from the edge.

-----

"All done huh? Good!" Chazz drew his card, "Now I cook that Kuriboh and I like mine well done! There's about to be a fried furball on the field, you loser!"

"You don't scare me, Chazz!" Jaden shot back. Chazz shrugged, "No big deal, that's _his_ job!" he jerked a thumb to his huge monster, "Dragon Catapult Cannon, attack!" he ordered. Once again, bursts of powerful energy shot forth from the mechanized monster and soared towards Kuriboh.

_Alright...secret weapon time_ Jaden thought as he placed two cards into his Graveyard, "Not so fast, Chazz! By sending two cards to my Graveyard, I can activate this! Transcendant Wings!"

Everyone watched stunned, or in Chazz's case, horror as a huge pair of angelic wings appeard on Kuriboh and deflected the blast at he last second.

"No! It can't be!"

"Oh it be, Chazz," Jaden said with a grin, "Transcendant Wings transforms Winged Kuriboh into a Level 10 monster! Not only that, but by sacrificing himself, Winged Kuriboh LVL 10 (300/200) can destroy all Attack Position monsters on the field and direct their attack back at you directly! Kuriboh, go and show him how it works!"

Winged Kuriboh gave a loud hoot as it shot the energy blast back at the Dragon Catapult Cannon, obliterating it and severly damaging Chazz.

**J: 1000  
C: 1000**

Chazz lowered his arms after the blast, "Lucky shot...," he hissed.

"Lucky? Nah, I just happen to have a soft spot for old ladies," Jaden said with a shrug, "But not for _you_, Chazz, and that's too bad, because at 1000 Life Points apiece and my turn coming up, all I need is the right monster and you're finished!"

Jaden drew his next card and nodded, "Bingo! Come on out, Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000)!" he ordered, slapping the card down. Chazz's eye twitched as the familiar green-winged Hero appeared on the field.

"Attack Chazz now!"

Before he could do anything, Chazz watched in horror as Avian raked it's claws right down the middle as it soared past him.

**J: 1000  
C: 0**

-----

"Jaden did it!" Syrus shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Christina whooped, "SLIFERS RULE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Jordan clapped his hands and glanced at Alexis, "So...looks like lover-boys got some skills, Cuz,".

Alexis blushed and whopped him over the head, "Be quiet! He is not my loverboy! Where did you hear that?!" she hissed. Jordan rubbed the large bump on his head, "From your friends...owie...,"

"Just ignore what they say, ok?"

-----

Crowler pounded the glass window, furious, "IMPOSSIBLE! This simply can't be, not with all the rare cards I gave to Chazz!" he screeched. Chancellor Sheppard looked at his colleague, "Rare cards? What on earth are you talking about, Crowler?" he asked.

"Oh! Uh...nothing,"

-----

"That's game...unless you wanna duel again?"

Chazz looked up from the floor, glaring at Jaden with intense hate boiling in him, "Oh...we _will,_ Slacker...you can count on that," he growled.

"Jaden!"

"Dude!"

Jaden turned around to see Syrus, Bastion and Christina run up to him. "Great job kicking Chazz's ass, Jaden!" Christina praised. Bastion nodded in agreement while Syrus leapt at him, "Way to play!"

"Yes, well played, Jaden," Sheppard's voice boomed over the loudspeakers, "Never in the history of our revered school as a Slifer dueled an Obelisk during these exams. Jaden, not only did you hold your own, you won! With your outstanding courage against overwhelming odds is...inspiring. With that, I'm honored to promote you to Ra Yellow. Good job, son!"

Christina's jaw hit the floor, "You get a rank promotion? Aw man, Siho's gonna flip out...,". Syrus hugged Jaden, "You're the best Jaden!"

"Uh...hehehe, I do what I can...," Jaden laughed, grinning from ear to ear. Bastion walked up to him, "Congratulations, Jaden. Allow me to be the first one to officially welcome you into Ra Yellow,"

"Thanks, Bastion...,"

-----

"Are you effin' kiddin' me, Chrissy?!"

"Nope, Siho, my old friend, I ain't kidding you. If I'm lyin' I'm dyin',"

Siho slumped back into the chair he was sitting in and tugged at his hair, "God dammit! I missed a great duel all because of Chumley's lousy cooking!". Chumley glared at him and tossed a pillow, "Don't blame my cooking, blame your stomach! It must not be used to eating different kinds of food!"

"I already had grilled cheese!!" Siho roared, catching the pillow, "Thanks to you, I missed the duel and my own! I failed the dueling part of the exam because of you! I'll be lucky if my mom don't find out!"

Christina shook her head and sighed, "Bakas...," she looked to Syrus, who was slumped over one of the desks in the room. She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder, "You ok, little guy?" she asked softly.

Syrus sighed quietly, "Yeah...I just thought Jaden would say goodbye to us at least...,"

"Hey, who's talking about saying goodbyes?"

All four Slifers turned to the side to see Jaden leaning against the open doorway of the dorm. Syrus jumped up, knocking Christina away, "Jaden?! What are you doing here?!".

"I wanted to say congrats on passing your field test. Also, in case you've forgotten," he placed his hands on his hips, "I _live _here!"

"What?!"

"What da hell?!"

"You're staying?!"

Jaden shrugged, "Sure, Ra Yellow has nice, clean sheets, lack of cockroaches, and those spiffy blazers, without you, Siho, Chumley or Christina, it's not my home, Syrus," he explained. Syrus sniffed and dove at him, tears falling from his eyes like a waterfall.

His roommate squirmed, "Hey! Easy, Syrus, you're getting my jacket soaked!". Syrus looked up, tears still going, "I thought...I thought I lost you forever! Now I'm never letting go!". Jaden sweatdropped, "Just chill out, Syrus! Come on, get off!".

Christina smiled and leaned her head against Siho's shoulder, "Kinda sweet when ya think about it. Only one problem I see here,"

"And what's that, Chrissy?"

"...Chances are that Syrus is gonna be Jaden's future stalker...,"


	13. The Old Dorm

**The Old Dorm**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The night was quiet as two people slowly made their way through the forest of Duel Academy. They were heading towards a large, run-down building with boards over the windows and the front door broken open.

Alexis and Jordan Rhodes stopped walking when they reached the wall that lay in front of the building. Jordan looked around and rubbed his arms, "Place gives me the creeps, Lexi...don't see why they don't just tear this place down...," he muttered.

However, Alexis didn't answer him. She bent down and placed a rose against the wall, then stood up and looked at the building, a pain in her heart. She could feel tears coming, but she fought them...she didn't want to cry in front of Jordan.

_Be at peace, Atticus...wherever you are_

-----

"...anyway, I go into the cave, and at the back, I see this pool of water so I go to look at it_ real_ carefully. At the right angle of light, at the very bottom of the pool, I see a rare and powerful card! Naturally, I go and try to get it, but as I do, a huge black arm shoots out of the water, grabs me, and begins to pull me into the water! HELP ME! NOT THE WATER, NOT THE WATER!"

"Hehehe...water's not so scary...,"

Syrus stopped his story and lowered his arms, looking at Jaden, "Not even swamp water?"

"Nope," Siho shook his head, "Not even swamp water, shorty,"

"Aw...you're right," Syrus slumped forward, "Not even a chump would be scared of that,". Siho glanced behind Syrus to see Chumley had retreated to the back side of the room, quivering.

Jaden chuckled, "My turn," he reached over and plucked a card from the deck. He frowned as he saw it was a weak monster, "Aw man...,"

However, Syrus was glad, "Low level monster, low level of scaring...good," he sighed. Siho shrugged, "Them's the brakes, so let loose, Yuki,". Jaden looked at them, then put his head on his hand, looking a bit distant, "Well...ok. But it's more of a memory than a story. When I was a little kid, real late at night, I used to hear voices in my room. I thought I was dreaming, but then I saw a bright light coming from my toy room, so I got outta bed and opened it up. But as soon as I did, the voices and the light disappeared...the only thing that looked out of place was my Duel Monster deck. But if you think that's strange, get this...I've started hearing them again,"

Siho blinked in silence while Syrus stared at him, Chumley sitting next to him finally. "Dude...that's messed up," Siho whispered.

"HAHAHAHHAHAH! Mind if we get in on the Fright Fest?"

All four Slifer boys fell out of their seats at the new voice and turned to see both Banner and Christina standing nearby, Pharaoh in Christina's arms.

Syrus pulled himself up, "You just did!"

"We're on the edge of our seats here!" Jaden added.

Siho removed his hand from his chest, "Well...we were. Since you guys are here, wanna join in?" he offered. Syrus nodded, "All you have to do is pick up a card and depending on the Level of the monster, the level of scariness your story is,".

Christina shook her head as she took a seat on the bottom bunk, petting Pharaoh, "Nah, I'm good. If I wanted to scare you guys, I'd show videos of my dad without his shirt on,".

"Oh god, Chrissy, I thought your mom destroyed those...,"

"You'd be surprised what can be copied onto CD's, Siho...,"

Banner chuckled and pulled a card from the top of the deck. Jaden, Syrus, and Siho leaned over, looking at the card. Jaden whistled, "Wow...a Level 12 monster...this one's gonna be good,". Syrus gulped, "I uh...think I'll go to bed now,"

"Hahahahaha...what's wrong, Syrus? Don't you want to hear about the Abandoned Dorm on the other end of the island?" Banner asked mysteriously.

That caught Siho's and Jaden's attention, "Abandoned Dorm?" they asked in unison.

Banner nodded, "Yes, no one talks about it, but there was once a special dorm set at the edge of the forest. It was shut down when several students went mysteriously missing,"

"Uh...w-where they all go?" Syrus asked quietly.

Banner shrugged, "Well that's the mystery of it, but the rumors told that it had something to do with Shadow Games...,"

"That's enough, you can stop now!"

Everyone turned to Chumley, who had spoken for the first time since they had come together. Banner looked back at the others, "You see children, Shadow Games are duels that were played with mystical items...,"

Jaden yawned, "Millenium Items, right?" he looked at Banner, smiling, "I've heard about this before teach, but it's not all true,".

"I've heard stories that say differently, Jaden," Siho threw in, rising from his seat. Christina nodded, "Yep...Siho and I used to look up all the freaky stuff on Duel Monsters and Shadow Games and Millenium Items were a common factor in everything we found,"

Again, Banner laughed, "Yes that's what most people say, Jaden, but I what I believe is that all things that sound like myths, tend to have some truth and had to come from _somewhere_,".

A low mewing sound from Pharaoh made Christina let go of the furball. Banner rose from his seat and collected his furry friend, "I believe that is my cue to head back home. Good night, children," he said as he walked out of the room.

Siho waved at him, "Night Professor Banner!" he called out. Syrus leaned over the table to Jaden, "You know, I _did_ see a creepy looking building in the forest...,". Jaden turned to him and grinned, "Perfect, Syrus! That means you can lead the way for us tomorrow night,"

"T-tomorrow night?"

"And what do you mean by _us_?" Chumley and Christina snapped, looming over them. Siho jabbed his friend, "Oi oi...you scared, Chrissy?"

"No...I just...don't wanna go there ok?"

Siho grinned, "Yeah, she's scared...,"

-----

Meanwhile, outside the window, Doctor Crowler was standing quietly, listening to the entire conversation. He giggled and rubbed his hands together, "This is the chance I've been waiting for...I think it's time that the Shadow Games made a comeback, Millenium Items and all!"

-----

In a dark alley of Domino City, a scream echoed through the night sky as a duelist wobbled on his feet while smoke and fog circled around him. He looked ahead of him and backed away, "Ok, ok, ok...look. You won, just take anything you want!".

A bright glow of golden light pierced the night and fog as a deep voice chuckled, "What I _want_ is your soul!"

"No! No, please show some mercy!" the man begged, holding his chest.

Again, his opponent chuckled as he stepped forward. He was a tall man in a heavy, black trenchcoat, duel disk on his left arm, and a golden pyramid shaped pendant in his right hand, "Some mercy? What is that?".

The glow changed from a golden yellow, to a white shine and the terrified man fell over on his stomach, some of his deck scattered outward. The tall man walked over to him and nudged the motionless body, "Rest in peace...in the Shadow Realm...,"

At that very moment, a loud beeping sound emanated from his pocket. The tall man pulled out a cell phone and pressed the call button, "Speak," he ordered. He stood there for a few moments as he listened to the person on the other end.

"Duel Academy? Tomorrow night?" he asked, looking behind him, "I'll be there...,". He turned off the cell phone and put it away as a smaller figure in black walked up to him.

"Another job, Father?"

"Yes, my dear daughter...this time, I'm going to Duel Academy,"

"May I come, Father?"

"Why not? I'm sure you can find yourself a few victims to play with while I'm working...,"

-----

The next morning, Jaden and Syrus were preparing for the night ahead...by sleeping through another class. Banner was either too busy reciting his lecture to the class, or he didn't want to wake them up. Chances were, it was the first one.

Siho leaned over, "Psst...Chrissy...you gonna come with us or not?" he whispered. Christina glanced at him as she wrote down notes, "I'm trying to pay attention here, Siho, let it wait until class is over," she hissed.

"Siho, what did I just say?" Banner stopped his lecture and walked to the side of the classroom where the two Slifers were sitting. Siho blinked and stood up, "Uh...uh...,"

"Sit down, Siho. Extra homework for you tonight,"

_Dammit! _Siho mentally cursed as he sat back down _My mom's gonna kill me..._

Behind the door above them, Crowler watched Syrus and Jaden snooze away the time. He smirked, _Sleeping in class again are we? Well you'll get a makeup lesson soon enough, you Slifer Slackers...a lesson in the Shadow Games!_

-----

Late that night, Crowler stood alone on the docks next to the lighthouse, waiting. After an eternity of waiting, he was about to give up when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw two people in black standing a few feet away from him.

One of these people was a tall man in a black trenchcoat and a widebrimmed hat, while the other one was a girl, roughly about 14 or so. However, she wore a robe, so all he could see was her face. Crowler looked back to the man, "So you're the one they called the Shadow Duelist?" he asked.

The tall man smirked, "My opponent's call me many things, but most of them are hard to discern through their shrieks of horror. What's the job?" he asked as a fog appeared around them.

Crowler smiled, "I want you to frighten someone so intensely, he'll leave this island and never come back!"

"Got anyone for me?" the girl asked with a wicked grin. The tall man placed a hand on her shoulder, "Surely there is someone my daughter can terrify while I'm doing my job?". Crowler looked at her for a few moments, then nodded, "I believe his friends could use a good scare...,"

-----

"You know, you _could_ think of it as being lost, or you could think of it as us finding a few places where it's not...,"

Christina rolled her eyes as she and Siho followed Jaden, Syrus and Chumley, "I can't believe I'm out here...," she murmured, rubbing her arms, "It's frickin' cold out here!". Chumley looked at her, "It could be worse, ya know, Christina...well, worse for Syrus anyway,".

"Worse for Syrus?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Siho held up his hands and wiggled his fingers, "We could find a large puddle of dirty swamp water...," he taunted. Syrus glared at him and Chumley, "Shut up you two! Chumley,_ you're_ the one who refused to take a bath last night because you were scared of the bath water!"

"Ugh...is that what that smell is?" Siho waved his hand in front of his face, looking disgusted, "Thought he had some grilled cheese gone bad on his bunk...either that or Chrissy's sock collection was seeping through the walls...,"

_BONK!_

Siho rubbed the large bump on his head while his friend walked ahead of him, arms folded across her chest, "Don't make me call your mom later, Siho...," she threatened.

"Hey guys...check it out," Jaden aimed his flashlight ahead of them. They looked ahead to see a rose lying on the ground in front of a wall. Syrus tugged at Jaden's sleeve, "Look what's behind it...,". Jaden looked up to see a run-down building with boards and debris everywhere, "The old dorm!"

Chumley moved behind Siho, "It's probably got lots of ghosts in there...,". Siho grinned widely, "Oh, really now? Well I'm definitely in,"

"Say what?!"

"Relax, Chumley...no one's here," Jaden said assuringly. Christina was about to agree with him when a loud snapping sound was heard. She ducked behind Siho, "Then what the hell was that?!" she yelped. Jaden turned and watched both Alexis and Jordan step into his light.

"Hey you two...what are you doing here?" he asked. Christina looked over Siho's shoulder and growled, "Yeah, what are you doing here!?"

Alexis frowned, "Funny...we were about to ask you the very same thing,".

"Well we heard about the dorm and wanted to check it out...," Jaden explained.

Christina seperated herself from the group, "They did, not me! I got dragged along!" she said quickly. Jordan looked at her, then at the other Slifers, "Not a very smart move guys,". Alexis nodded in agreement, "Don't you know that kids have a way of disappearing around here?" she inquired, walking closer to them.

Jaden waved them both off, "Aw come on...that's just a myth,". Jordan scowled, "The hell it is! Believe us, Alexis and I know! Why else would the Academy close this place off?" he challenged.

"That's right, it's completely forbidden. If any faculty catches any of you here, you will get expelled!" Alexis warned. Jaden grinned and eyed her, "Then what are you doing here, Alexis?" he wondered. The Queen of Obelisk Blue turned bright red, "Jordan and I have a very good reason for being here!" she snapped.

Jaden shrank back, "Hey...Alexis, we just came to look around. Don't worry, we'll stay out of your way, I promise!". Alexis sighed and walked a short distance away, "It's just that...,"

"Just...what?" Syrus asked.

Jordan joined Alexis and put his hand on her shoulder, then looked at the Slifers, "One of the kids here that disappeared...it was her brother, my other cousin," he said quietly. Jaden looked away and stared at the rose on the ground, _That explains the rose..._

He looked back to see both Rhodes were gone. Siho crossed his arms, "If Alexis' brother really was one of the kids that disappeared, then the rumors about this place were true,". Syrus looked at the old building again, "I say we go back Jaden...,".

Christina nodded rapidly, "Totally agree with you, Truesdale, let's go back right now!". She turned and started to walk off when Siho grabbed her by the blazer collar and held her in place, "Oh no...no no no. You go off and you tell Banner where we are, and then we get into uber trouble,".

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

Jaden sweatdropped at the two bickering friends, then looked at the dorm, "Well, I say we go in. Who knows, could be fun!"

"SAY WHAT?!" Syrus and Christina yelled together.

Siho, Jaden and Chumley began to walk towards the dorm, flashlights leading their way. Jaden waved at the two lagging Slifers, "See you later, you guys! Don't disappear on us!".

-----

"I so hate you guys...," Christina murmured, keeping close to Siho as they walked through the old dorm. Jaden laughed, "Sorry...but ya know, this place ain't too bad. I mean, fresh paint, a couple of boxes and a throw rug...we could so totally move in here!"

Syrus gagged, "You kidding? This place is worse than the Slifer Dorms! I mean...look at this!" he pointed his light to a nearby wall. On it, was a large amount of symbols and letters carved or painted on.

"What the heck is all this?"

"Do you think it has to do with the Shadow Games Banner was talking about?" Chumley thought aloud, looking at the marks. Jaden walked up and peered closely at one of the sets, "Hey you know what? I think this shows the seven Millenium Items!"

"Ring, Puzzle, Scale, Key, Rod, Eye, and Necklace...," Siho ran his hand along the wall, "Incredible...we heard stories, but I never really saw any real art on it,"

"Uh guys...who is that?"

Everyone turned to look at Christina, who was pointing at a large photograph on the wall. Jaden walked up to her, "That's someone I've never seen before..,"

"Oh gee, thanks for clearing that up, Jaden," Christina muttered, looking away, "Look, if this is a dorm, I'm gonna go look for the little girls room ok?". Siho watched his friend walk away, "You sure? I mean...you're not scared?".

She stopped and turned to him, hands on her hips, "No, I'm not scared of this place, Siho Zolaro! The only thing I have to fear is-,"

"Fear itself?"

"No...fear that something will come out of the toilet when I try to sit down,"

Siho grinned as she walked out of the room, "Man I'm so glad I got her to come...this is a goldmine worth of mind messing. I'm never gonna get tired of this...,"

The group of Slifer boys continued to look around, until a loud scream ripped through the air.

"What the hell?!" Siho looked from side to side, waving his flashlight around, "What the hell was that?"

"Sounded like Alexis!" Jaden shouted, running towards the hallway where they came from. The other three quickly followed suit downstairs until Jaden suddenly came to a stop. He bent down and picked up something from the floor.

"It's...it's one of Alexis' cards!" he gasped, holding up one of the dancer cards from their duel. Siho frowned and looked at it, "Anyone else got a bad feeling about this?"

Before anyone could answer, another scream echoed through the building, but this one was different. Siho paled, "Christina!" he shouted before running off.

"H-hey! Where are you going?! We should stick together!" Syrus yelled after him. Siho stopped, "You guys go find Alexis, make sure she's alright. It's my fault Christina's out here with us, so I gotta go find her!"

Jaden nodded, "Go for it! Meet up with us outside the dorm when ya do find her!". Siho grinned, "Gotcha...good luck you guys!" he waved at them and disappeared into another hallway. Syrus groaned and pulled at his hair, "This is bad...we don't even know where Alexis could be!".

Chumley pointed to the side, "Only one place she _could _be...,"

-----

"Christina! Christina, answer me dammit!"

Siho ran through the dorm, waving his light around like a madman as he tried to find his childhood friend. He came short to a door that had a glow coming out from underneath. He frowned, "This...can't be good...," he whispered to himself, but turned the knob on the door and went inside anyway.

The first thing he saw when he entered was a girl around his age with black hair and red highlights, wearing dark clothing and a wicked smile on her face, duel disk on her arm. She bowed slightly, "Welcome, my friend. Are you looking for a girl by chance? Short brown hair and blue eyes?".

"Where is she? I swear, if you hurt her, I will make every second of your life a living hell," Siho growled. The girl giggled, "I'd like to see you try. I make my living making other people's lifes a living hell...that is, until I beat them in a Shadow Game and take their souls away,"

Siho glared, "Shadow Game? You're kidding me right? What the hell have you been smoking? Where's Christina?" he demanded. The girl smirked and walked over to a door off to the side, "Right in here...,". She opened the door and not one, but two people fell onto the floor, bound at the wrists and legs.

"Christina! Jordan?" Siho rubbed his eyes, "Great, now I gotta help out two idiots...,"

"Your fault I'm here in the first place, you dumbass!" Christina screamed, glaring at him. The girl planted her boot on Christina's head, "Shut up, brat, or I'll take your soul," she threatened. Siho crossed his arms, "So what do you want? I get the feeling there's a catch otherwise you would've taken their souls already," he reasoned.

The girl grinned and reached into her shirt, "Oh there's a catch. You will duel me here and now in a Shadow Game for the souls of your friends!" she explained, pulling out a golden circle. Siho's eyes widened at the sight. The circle was made of gold, with a triangle in the middle and spikes dangling from the end.

"You...you have a Millenium Item?!"

"Heheheh...oh yes. You can't have a Shadow Game without a Millenium Item, dear boy. My name is Kairi, and here, you will fight for your very soul!"

-----

Siho wasn't the only one dealing with this problem. Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were standing in a round room, underneath the dorm looking at a tall figure in black while Alexis lay motionless in a coffin nearby, bound hand and foot.

"You wish to save her?" Titan, the Shadow Duelist pointed to Alexis, "Then you'll have to beat me in a Shadow Game!"

"He's not lookin' at me, is he?" Chumley whimpered.

Jaden stepped forward, "Look I'm not afraid of dueling you, but Shadow Games don't exist!". Titan laughed darkly, "My foes didn't believe in the Shadow Games either, but they were convinced right before they were sent screaming into the Shadow Realm!"

"So _you're_ the one behind the disappearances! Well this time is different, you won't take Alexis!" Jaden swore.

"Jaden!"

He turned to see Chumley holding a Duel Disk he had taken out of his knapsack, then placed it on his arm, glaring at the Shadow Duelist, "Get your game on!".

Titan smirked as he activated his own Duel Disk, "Shadow Game that is, foolish boy!"


	14. Thriller Night Part One

**Thriller Night Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**T: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Prepare yourself fool, prepare to enter the Shadows!" Titan drew his card and looked at his hand, "I summon forth Infernalqueen Archfiend (900/1500) in Attack mode!". Jaden watched as a large, bone-covered creature in dark robes appeared on the field, screeching, "An Archfiend monster?"

"Yes...and now that this card's out, each and every monster that has Archfiend in it's name gains 1000 ATK points!"

Infernalqueen Archfiend (1900/1500)

Jaden grinned, "Uh, yeah, I actually already knew that. I also know to keep an Archfiend monster on the field, you hafta pay Life Points during every Standby Phase of your turn!"

"Hehehe...no I don't. Not after I play this card, Pandemonium!" Titan inserted a card into his custom Duel Disk A light shined, forcing the others to cover their eyes at the brightness. The room around them soon changed into a disturbing room with bone statues of horrid monsters and bone-laced walls.

Jaden blinked, "Whoa...pretty cool,"

"And it doesn't just change the scenery, it changes the rules! Now, I don't have to pay Life Points in order to keep my Archfiend on the field! Also," Titan grinned, "if they're ever destroyed outside of battle, I get to place another Archfiend right into my hand!".

_Well he's got that angle covered..._ Jaden thought as Chumley and Syrus shivered in fear of the room.

"I know what you're thinking, foolish boy," Titan turned to the motionless form of Alexis, "Your little friend's fate is all but sealed and you know what?" he paused as the coffin she lay in closed up and disappeared into the ground.

"Alexis!" Jaden shouted.

"That's not fair!" Chumley cried.

"What have you done with her?" Syrus demanded.

Titan scowled at them both, "The same thing I shall do to you two, if you continue to pester and annoy me!" he barked.

"Hey, leave my friends out of this! I'm the one you're dealing with so leave them alone!" Jaden drew his card and looked over his hand, _I don't have any card that can beat 1900 attack points but maybe..._

"Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000)! I summon you out in attack mode! Then I'll end my turn with two facedowns,".

"Too bad you won't have a chance to use them," Titan said as he slapped a card onto his disk, "Terrorking Archfiend (2000/1500) in attack mode!". Alongside the robed queen, another Archfiend, this time, one with electricity sparking around it's body appeared.

"Now you have _two_ Archfiends to contend with, and with the special ability of my Infernalqueen, Terrorking's attack points automatically increase by 1000 points, making him a more fiendish force to deal with!"

Infernalqueen (1900/1500)  
Terrorking (3000/1500)

"3000 points?!" Jaden couldn't believe it. Suddenly, he was facing a monster that was equal in strength as the Blue Eyes White Dragon from long ago.

"That's right," Titan replied, "and now, I'm going to put them all to use! Terrorking Archfiend, attack Avian! Locus Storm Barrage!".

The Terrorkings chest opened up into a vortex and a swarm of insects flew out of it, heading straight for Avian.

"No way!" Jaden cried, "You forgot about my facedown card, Mirror Gate! This Trap card causes both of our monsters to trade places. _My_ Avian for _your_ Terrorking! So those 3000 ATK points are gonna go work for me!"

Titan chuckled, "You really think you could be _me_ in a Trap? Look around you and tell me who's trapped...,"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your Trap card won't work on my Terrorking! It simply activates his special ability, an ability that will determine our monsters fate by chance," he explained as six different colored balls rose from the center of the field and floated to his side.

"You see, when he's targeted by an opponent's effect, Terrorking's ability gives me a gambling chance," he pointed to the balls and Jaden saw that each one had a different number on it, "A number between one and six is selected at random and if it happens to be a two or five, your Trap is destroyed and Terrorking stays to fight on my side. So, let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens, shall we?"

A burst of fire appeared on surrounded the first ball, then started to make it's way around the other balls quickly.

Chumley gulped, "It's ok...the odds are _way_ in Jaden's favor...,".

"You flunked math, Chumley!" Syrus reminded him.

"Nuh uh...I got a 54," he shot back.

The flame slowed down until it came to stop on the number two, causing Titan to grin again.

"It seems that chance has favored the Terrorking Archfiend. Mirror Gate is shattered!" he said triumphantly as the shimmering veil in front of Avian went to pieces, "Locust Storm Barrage, finish him!"

Avian howled in pain as the locusts covered every part of his body, tearing at him in a feeding frenzy before exploding into a puff of smoke.

**T: 4000  
J: 2000**

"That's not good...but at least that activates my other trap!" Jaden looked on as his second rose upward, "Hero Signal!". A beam of green light shot forth from the Trap card and hit the ceiling, a large black **H** in the middle of it.

"When my monster is destroyed in battle, this Trap card allows me to summon a monster from my deck or my hand, as long as it has Elemental Hero in it's name," Jaden watched as a large brown monster appeared on the field in front of him, "And I choose Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in defense mode!"

"Way to duel!" Syrus praised to his best friend.

Chumley nodded, "That Clayman should keep his Life Points safe,"

"I don't think so...,"

Jaden raised an eyebrow at Titan, "Huh?"

His opponent held up the golden pyramid in his other hand, "At least they won't be safe from this!". A fierce light shined from the Item, causing the others to become rather uneasy.

"Now the Shadow Game has _truly_ begun!" Titan laughed coldly, "Don't your Life Points seem so utterly insignificant when it's your very life on the line?"

"Jaden!"

"No!"

Hearing his friends call out to him, Jaden looked down only to see a fog swirling around him, his body was partly erased, as if someone had taken a huge eraser and rubbed him out, "Hey, my arm!"

"Hehehe...it is the way of the Shadows, fool," Titan explained, "Transcending the game and attacking your body,".

Jaden frowned and tried to reposition himself but couldn't. He looked down and tried to move his legs, but was unable to.

"Hey! Why can't I move my feet?" he demanded, still trying to move.

Titan held a serious face, although he was quite amused, "As the Shadow Fog rolls past, it will ensare you all into it's grip, taking you completely...,".

Chumley and Syrus began to cough and their hands went to their throats as the fog came around them. "It...it's getting hard to breathe in here...," Chumley wheezed. Titan nodded at them, "You all are at the mercy of the night now. Treasure the numbness you feel inside now, for it will not last as you all make your way into the chasm and void where every waking moment is filled with misery and-,"

"Oh c'mon, gimme a break!" Jaden interrupted, "It can't be _that_ bad. Back at our dorm, we got blackout curtains so we can sleep in later, so I'm not afraid of the dark!"

Titan held up his golden pyramid, "But your blackout curtains don't wield the same kind of mystic power as my Millenium Item does!" he pointed out as his Item began to glow once again, "It's your move, but make it count...for it may be your last,"

Jaden looked at his hand, which looked like his arm, mostly erased _Wow...Millenium Items, Shadow Fog...man, who could ask for a better challenge? _he thought, smiling slightly.

Titan frowned _What's he smiling about? He should be terrified out of his wits now!_

"Ok Jaden...get your game on!" Jaden drew, "I play the Spell card, Pot of Greed! Allowing me to draw two more cards," he drew two more and smiled some more, "I'll fuse the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1000) with the Clayman I have on the field...,"

He paused as Sparkman leapt into the air as soon as he had been called to the field, quickly joined by Clayman and the two of them swirled together to create a huge monster in purple and yellow armor, arcs of electricity sparking about him.

"Say hello to Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)! Now, I'll use his special ability and destroy one monster on your side of the field whose original Attack Points were lower than his. Thunder Giant, let loose on Terrorking Archfiend with Static Blast!" he ordered, pointing to the powerhouse Fiend.

Thunder Giant roared and fired off a ball of electricity from it's palm, aimed directly for the Terrorking. Titan chuckled, "I activate Terrorking's special ability once again, Spin Roulette!" he declared as a fireball appeared on the set of colored orbs next to him.

Syrus moaned as the fireball began to move around the circle again, "Aw man...it can't land on a two or a five again...,".

Unfortunately, his prayers weren't answered. The flame had landed on the Number Five ball. Titan smirked, "I win again. Looks like fate isn't even on your side even half of the time! Now, you will pay the price!" he laughed as the lightning bolts were redirected from Terrorking back at Thunder Giant, blasting him to smitheerens.

Jaden groaned, "Talk about some really rotten luck...this stinks!"

"Jaden! Be careful!" Syrus called out to him.

Chumley gulped, _This is so anti-licious. No matter what Jaden does, that Shadow Duelist's Archfiend deck can use the Spin Roulette to save himself, and this choking dark fog isn't helping much either. I mean, Jaden first came here to save Alexis, but it looks like he might not be able to save himself!_

Titan began to laugh coldly, "All your monsters are destroyed, and you are next, boy! Prepare to join the Shadow Realm!"

-----

Siho donned his Duel Disk and switched it on, then inserted his deck, eyes never leaving the girl that had taken his best friend captive.

"You know...it's one thing to take a dork captive...,"

"Hey! I'm right here, Slifer!" Jordan shouted.

Siho glanced at him before continuing, "But to take my best friend as a prize to a Shadow Game...then man, you must have some big ol' _cajones_ in those pants. Then again, if you did, I wouldn't be surprised if you never had a serious relationship...,"

Kairi glared at him as she drew her hand, "Watch it, jackass! Don't make me take you to the Shadow Realm," she threatened, fingering the Millenium Item around her neck.

"...I would _love_ to see you try and do that, girly," Siho said with a slight grin, "The Millenium Ring around your neck has a dark origin and an immense power. Do you really want to risk your own soul to get at mine, or them?" he asked, drawing his hand and looking at the two captives nearby.

"You dare me to do it?" she challenged, raising the Item.

"Did I stutter?" Siho shot back, "Now c'mon, let's get this over with, I got homework to do. Who's going first?".

Kairi giggled, "Homework? Please, you got more things to worry about...like the Shadow Realm! You can go first if you wish...not like it'll make a difference," she scoffed.

**K: 4000  
S: 4000**

"If ya say so...," Siho said calmly as he drew, "I summon Headless Knight (1450/1700) in Attack Mode and then I'll place two cards facedown on the field, ending my turn,"

Kairi shook her head as the armored apparition appeared, "That rust bucket won't help you at all," she drew her card, "I summon Nightmare Horse (500/400) in Attack Mode and place one card facedown. Nightmare Horse, attack him directly!".

"What?!"

"Siho!" Christina watched as the undead horse bit into her friends shoulder, then glared at her captor, "Hey, goth girl! He had a monster on the field, how'd you do attack him?!"

Kairi rolled her eyes, "I'll answer the question but you better shut up or I'll make you shut up," she snapped, finger trailing the Item around her neck, "Nightmare Horse has the ability to bypass an opponent's defense and go straight for their Life Points,"

**K: 4000  
S: 3500**

"It don't matter...," Siho drew his next card, "I know what to do against this chick...just hang on, Chrissy. I summon Master Kyonshee (1750/1000) in Attack Mode and then I'll activate my facedown Trap Card, Coffin Seller! Now, everytime one of your monsters gets sent to the Graveyard, you get dealt damage. Headless Knight, attack Nightmare Horse now!" he ordered.

_Don't think so..._ Kairi grinned, "I activate my facedown card, Threatening Roar! Now, for the rest of this turn, you can't declare an attack on me or my monsters, meaning your Headless Knight's assault is pointless!"

"That may be...but I can still do this! Activate my facedown Spell Card, Offerings to the Doomed! By skipping my next Draw Phase, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field and I choose your Nightmare Horse!"

As the blue flame steed exploded into bits and pieces, Siho chuckled, "Also, don't forget my Coffin Seller Trap Card! You lose 300 points because your Horse got sent to the Graveyard!"

**K: 3700  
S: 3500**

Kairi drew her card, "Small price to pay. I play the Spell Card, Call of the Mummy! If I have no monster on my side of the field, which I don't, I get to special Summon a Zombie Type monster! I choose Dragon Zombie (1600/0),"

_Why would she summon a weaker monster than my own? She could've just brought him on easily..._ Siho wondered as he looked at the rotting dragon corpse as it rose from the ground, growling.

"However, he won't be staying long! I sacrifice my Dragon Zombie to summon a more powerful monster. I summon the Beast of Talwar (2400/2150) to the field in Attack Mode!"

Siho blinked as a large winged figure wielding two curved blade appeared on the field _Ooook...that...would explain it..._

"Beast of Talwar, attack Headless Knight! Beastial Blade attack!"

Her winged monster let out a battle-cry, then flew over to the other side of the field, swords raised high into the air. "Oh crap...," Siho groaned just as his Headless Knight was sliced in half by the Beast.

**K: 3400  
S: 2550**

"Are you scared now boy? Do you fear the Shadow Realm _now_?" Kairi taunted as her monster came back to her.

Siho had his head lowered and his shoulders were shaking.

"Siho! Snap out of it!" Christina pleaded, still trying to get the rope off, "C'mon Siho!"

Kairi glanced at her, "He's already admitted he was afraid of the Shadows, idiot. Now the Shadow Realm will paw at his soul until he is so weak, he will collapse,"

"Now...I never said I was afraid of the Shadow Realm,"

"What?!" she turned back to Siho, who had a large smile on his face as he looked as though he was given the best gift of all, "What are you talking about?!"

Siho scratched his head, "I never did say I was afraid of you, nor the Shadow Realm. Now, are we gonna do this or not? I'd really like to get out of here," he said boredly.

"You insolent, arrogant...," Kairi held up her Item and it immediately began to glow a bright light. Siho groaned and shielded his eyes, "Oy oy...turn down the light show, would ya? You're holding up the duel as it is, do we really need this?"

"You just need to shut your trap and get ready to lose your soul, 'cause you won't have it with you for much longer!" she shrieked as the room was filled with a dark mist that wafted around their legs.

Siho lowered his arm and looked straight at her, "You want my soul? Come get some,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: wow...um...i REALLY hope I did that right. Stupid site keeps screwin me up and stuff...anyhoo, ja ne!**


	15. Thriller Night Part Two

**Thriller Night Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time on GX: Heroes, Jaden and Siho began their duels against the Shadow Duelists who had taken their friends prisoner. Jaden, although he had pulled some good combinations, must now try and hold off the barrage of Archfiend monsters that Titan has at his command._**

**_Meanwhile, Siho has met Kairi, Titan's daughter and the two of them are exchanging blows with their own Fiends and Zombies. Can these two Slifers defeat these creeps and save their friends, or will they be victims to the Shadow Game?_**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**K: 3400  
S: 2550**

"Why are you so calm? This is the Shadow Realm, don't you understand?! You will lose your soul and be trapped here forever!"

Siho shook his head as he looked over his hand, _This chick keeps going on and on...it's getting annoying. Ok, I can't draw because of my Offerings to the Doomed Spell I played last turn, so I gotta make due with what I got._

"I place one card facedown, and then I sacrifice my Master Kyonshee for the Dark Dust Spirit (2200/1800), who I summon in Attack Mode!"

The undead martial artist dissolved away and in it's place, a disgusting monstrosity appeared in it's place. It was a tall creature, with decaying red flesh and long white hair, it's yellow eyes peeking out from behind them.

"Lucky for me, not only is he powerful, but he has a great effect! Whenever he's Summoned by either tributing, or flipping over, all face-up monster on the field except him are destroyed!"

"No! Talwar!" Kairi watched as her beast was dragged down into the depths of the dark shroud that surrounded them.

"Before I attack, my Coffin Seller Trap Card is still in effect, so say goodbye to 300 points!" Siho reminded her.

**K: 3100  
S: 2550**

"Dark Dust Spirit, attack her directly with Hollow Strike!"

Kairi cried as the creature swooped down upon her, claws gleaming through the darkness before it raked them across her chest.

**K: 900  
S: 2500**

"I told you...I'm not afraid of you, or this...Shadow Realm of yours. Now, since it's the End Phase of my turn, Dark Dust Spirit returns to my hand," Siho said as his monster appeared back in his hand, leaving his field wide open.

Kairi glared at him as she regained her footing from the attack, "You're gonna pay for that...you're _really_ gonna pay for that," she growled as she drew her card.

"Yeah well, go ahead and give it your best,"

"Oh believe me...I will. I Summon my Melchid the Four Faced Beast (1500/1200) in Attack Mode, and I'll use him to attack you directly!"

**K: 900  
S: 1000**

"Siho! What's happening?! Are you ok?!"

"I'm fine, Chrissy...just calm down and watch ok?"

"...uh, yeah about that. I CAN'T SEE A DAMN THING!"

Siho drew his card, "Well just...dammit, hold on, ok?" he looked over his hand, "Hmmm...I summon The Portrait's Secret (1200/1500) in attack mode, then I activate my facedown Trap card, Ultimate Offering! By giving up 500 of my Life Points, I can summon another monster from my hand...so guess which I'm gonna do?"

**K: 900  
S: 500**

"I sacrifice my Portrait in order to summon back my Dark Dust Spirit!"

Kairi backed away a few inches as the decaying red spirit appeared on the field once more, letting out a hungry growl as her own monster disappeared.

**K: 600  
S: 500**

"Scared, Kairi? You really shouldn't be...considering this is all a fake,"

She snapped her stare from the monster to Siho, "W-what are you talking about? Of course this is real!".

He shook his head, "No...no it's not, Kairi. One thing, I haven't felt pain other than the stings that these holograms bring. If this were a Shadow Game, I would be in a lot more pain right now...all this?" he nodded to the darkness around them, "and that?" he pointed to the Item around her neck, "Nothing but a big load of crap,".

"...how did you know?"

"How did I know? I've studied everything dark-related from the origin of duel monsters, to the religions of the old world. I can tell when something's real and something's just a trick,"

"JUST SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP AND FINISH THIS!"

Siho nodded, "If you wish...Dark Dust Spirit, Hollow Strike!"

**K: 0  
S: 500**

The claws of the spirit connected with Kairi's body, sending her back a few feet, skidding along the floor. Siho watched as the ring's glow shimmer disappeared and the shadowy darkness around them, "See? Nothing but a cheap trick," He turned off his duel disk and walked over to where Kairi lay still, her Ring at her side.

"Piece of advice...next time, get a better prop," he muttered as he stomped his boot onto the Item, cracking the surface. He lifted his foot to see that the outside was made of cheap metal and inside, a dozen wires and very small batteries lay inside.

Next, he walked to Jordan and Christina, who were...in a bit of an interesting situation. She must've tried to find her way around, but got tripped by Jordan somehow, because she was now on top of him, looking at his face, both of them blushing.

"...should I leave you two alone to continue this freaky kinky thing you got goin' on or...?"

Christina shook her head and rolled off of Jordan, hands offered to Siho, "Just shut up and untie me!" she snapped. Siho grinned and began to untie his friends, "I still can't believe you two got caught...I mean, Rhodes, I could predict getting caught, but Chrissy? Damn, you're dad taught you how to fight, so why didn't you do anything?"

His friend smiled slightly, "You...want me...to do something?" she asked sweetly. Siho gulped, "Uh...Chrissy...,". Everytime she got that tone in her voice, he could tell something was coming. This time was no different.

Jordan watched as Christina swiftly kicked her best friend in the groin, then watched as he hit the floor, gasping in pain.

"You uh...you do that often?" he asked slowly.

Christina shrugged, "Only when he gets on my nerves enough...,"

"Ah...well ok then," Jordan stood up, rubbing his wrists, "Can we get out of here already?"

Siho looked behind him to see Kairi wasn't there anymore, "I guess so...she's gone so she's no longer a problem. Besides, I told Jaden we'd meet up outside after he grabs Alexis,"

"Wait, hold on, Alexis? She got caught too?" Jordan asked, grabbing Siho's arm.

"I dunno, dude...but we just gotta go outside and wait for 'em ok? Now c'mon!" Siho turned and started to walk out the way he came. Jordan and Christina followed quickly behind him.

Jordan leaned over to Christina, "I'm surprised he didn't flip out...hell I thought that _was_ a Shadow Game,"

"Hehehehe...Siho's had this thing with the dark and shadow thing for most of his life. I like to call it either a hobby or a very unhealthy fetish...,"

"I can hear you, you know!"

"Uh...sorry!"

Siho lead the two of them to the entrance, the duel running through his head. _She wasn't that strong...she can't be the reason why this place was forbidden. If she wasn't...why was she here? Where'd she go?_

"Uh...Siho? Would you call Jordan an idiot?"

"Sometimes, why?"

"Uh...he's gone,"

He turned to see Siho running down another corridor on the other side of the room, leaving the two of them behind.

"Sonofa...,"

-----

**T: 4000  
J: 2000**

"Your destiny is set, boy! Soon my Archfiend deck will finish off your monsters and my Millenium Item will finish off your soul!" Titan gloated, holding up said Item.

Jaden frowned as he drew his next card, "This duel isn't over yet, big guy. I still got some cards up my sleeve...like this one! Mirage of Nightmare! With that, I'll throw down two facedowns and end my turn,"

Titan chuckled, "Don't waste my time! Your Life Points won't last long enough for you to use anymore of your cards. Alexis' soul will be soon be gone and so will yours!" he raised his hand to his deck as a card popped out of it, "It's my turn...,"

"Hold on!" Jaden stopped him, "I think you're forgetting something! Mirage lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand,"

"Urg...fine! It won't matter anyway, you could have four _million_ cards in your hand and they still wouldn't help you against the crushing power of my monster. Allow me to demonstrate!" Titan turned to his Terrorking Archfiend monster, "Locust Storm Barrage!"

Terrorking's chest opened up once more and.a horde of insects erupted from within the horrid beast, straight at Jaden!

_Talk about butterflies in your stomach_ Jaden thought as the swarm approached him, "I play the Trap Card, Mirror Force! Say goodbye to all your monsters in Attack Mode!"

-----

"Totally-lishus!" Chumley pumped his arm, "If Jaden keeps this up, we'll finally be able to get out of here, and with Alexis too!"

"What the hell is going on?!"

Syrus and Chumley turned around to see Jordan run up to them, exiting the corridor, followed by Siho and Christina.

"Christina! You're ok!"

Christina nodded, "Thanks to Siho I am. We ran into WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AND WHO IS THAT?!" she screamed, pointing to the duel that was taking place. Siho peered at the two duelists _Not this again...c'mon, Jaden. Focus here man!_

"Where's Alexis? Where's my cousin?" Jordan demanded, "Alexis!!"

Chumley held up his hands, "Just chill ok? She was captured by Mr Tall Dark and Creepy over there...," he jerked a thumb to Titan, "Jaden came by to save her, now they're in a Shadow Game, and Jaden's losing for now,"

"He's losing?!"

"I said for now...,"

Siho passed by the others until he was in front of the group, eyes hard on the two, "He'll pull through this, Jordan. No worries, ok? Jaden will win this and save your cousin...,"

"How the hell do you know?" Jordan snapped at him, "Are you psychic or something?!"

Siho turned to him and grinned, "You can say I have a hunch...,"

-----

Titan watched as both his Infernalqueen and Terrorking Archfiends were destroyed, thanks to his redirected attack, and he wasn't pleased.

"How dare you!"

Jaden blinked, "How? 'Cause I'm daring, I guess,"

"Well let's just see how daring you are after this!" Titan took a card from his hand, "I'm activating the effect of Desrook Archfiend! By sending this card to the Graveyard, I can resurrect Terrorking Archfiend back to the field!"

He inserted the card into his Graveyard slot and looked back at Jaden as the Terrorking returned to the field, "Say hello to a not so old friend...,"

Terrorking Archfiend (2000/1500)

"Him _again_?" Jaden asked in disbelief.

"And now, I activate the effect of the Field Spell Card, Pandemonium!" Titan said with a cold laugh, "It's powerful magic allows me to draw a new Archfiend if any of my Archfiends are sent to the Graveyard," he paused as a card popped out of the apparatus on his chest, "My new Archfiend can't be as powerful, but my Terrorking is packing more than enough power as it is. Now, let's try this again...Locust Storm Barrage!".

-----

"Aw jeez...will this storm ever let up?" Chumley groaned.

Christina sweatdropped, "Chumley ol' boy...that was the _worst_ comment anyone could've said at any point of any duel...,"

-----

"Go, Emergency Provisions!" Jaden pressed another button his Disk, and his other facedown rose upward, "This Spell Card allows me to sacrifice another Spell or Trap Card on the field, and in return, I get 1000 Life Points! So, I choose my Mirage of Nightmare card!"

**T: 4000  
J: 3000**

He barely had time to hold his arms in defense as the locusts hit him hard, knocking away his Life Points.

**T: 4000  
J: 1000**

"You still stand?!" Titan snapped, _Curse that boy and his card...I almost had him!_

Jaden winced as the toll from the Shadow Game came again, but grinned as he regained his foot, "As long as I got two good legs with me...,"

"Is that so?" Titan pulled out his Millenium Item from his pocket and held it outward again, "Well I hate to tell you, but your legs aren't good, and now with this latest strike on your Life Points, neither are your arms!"

Once again, the light from the Millenium Item filled the room and Jaden watched as his right arm disappeared just like the other parts of his body.

_Talk about hanging on by a limb..._ Jaden drew his next card, "Better make this turn count if I wanna help Alexis. Alright, I play the Spell Card, The Warrior Returning Alive, which brings back Elemental Hero Avian from the Graveyard," he picked up his revived Hero from the Graveyard slot and looked over his hand, "Now, with the help of Polymerization, fuse with the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) to create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

-----

Jordan watched as the red and green Hero appeared from within an orb of light. He looked at the others, "That's a good monster right? Tell me that's a good monster!". Christina nodded, smiling at the familiar sight of the creature, "Like the name says, that monster is a Hero...and you'll see why in just a sec,"

-----

"What do you say we turn up the heat in here, Wingman? Attack with Infernal Rage!"

The Wingman flew over and hovered above the Archfiend, fire gathering in it's mouth of a right hand. It aimed, then fired a torrent of burning red flame at the creature, consuming it in a blaze of pain.

Jaden grinned as he watched the Archfiend became incinerated, "Oh, by the way...your beasty won't be the only one hurting! You will too, because you take damage equal to the Attack Points of your destroyed monster!"

**T: 1900  
J: 1000**

-----

Christina leaned forward, "Uh guys...what's going on?" she asked, pointing to Titan. Syrus looked at him, his leg and arm were slowly dissolving away, "He's disappearing too!".

"Why?"

Syrus looked at her, not believing it, "Christina...they're in a Shadow Game!"

"They are?"

Syrus turned to Siho, "What is her problem?"

Shrugging, Siho never turned away from the duel, "Sometimes she just forgets some things and details that are right in front of her...,"

"...how do you deal with it?"

"Eh...just roll with it,"

-----

"What you just did doesn't matter at all! I have another Desrook Archfiend in my hand and I'll send it to the Graveyard to bring back my Terrorking! There is no escaping _him_, boy...," Titan chortled as, for the third time, his Terrorking Archfiend appeared on the field.

"This guy is _really_ overstaying his welcome," Jaden murmured as he drew, "I gotta get rid of him somehow, but first, I'll defend myself with Dark Catapulter (1000/1500) he declared as a metal monster with two rods sticking out of it's back appeared on the field, kneeling, "Now c'mon and do your worst!"

Titan shook his head as he drew his card, "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it! Especially when this card is involved!" he looked at his Terrorking, who dissolved away in little lights, "I sacrifice my Terrorking Archfiend and summon forth, my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (2500/1200)!"

In the Terrorking's place, a much bigger Archfiend stood, bolts of electricity crackling over every part of it's body.

"You wanted my worst? Well now you got it! Every last super-charged bolt of it!" Titan roared as the Archfiend shot an electric blast at Flame Wingman, electrocuting him completely and blasting him straight to the Graveyard.

**T: 1900  
J: 600**

Jaden winced as he stood up from the leftover of the attack, _I've got to hold on...for Alexis..._

The light from Titan's Millenium Item glowed again, followed by his dark laugh, "Look into my Millenium Item, boy...and feel yourself drifting further in the Shadow Realm!"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: well again, I hope I did that one well. Even though Siho managed to save his friends, Jaden's still having a tough time beating Titan. Will he be able to do it? Catch the conclusion of the Shadow Game next time! Ja ne, for now folks!**


	16. Thriller Night Part Three

**Thriller Night Part Three**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. All OC's belong to their respective owners. Who you may ask? Try and figure out for yourself, cuz I'm just too damn lazy to tell ya.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**_Last time, on GX: Heroes, Siho was able to beat Kairi in the make-believe Shadow Game she had challenged him to, and after defeating her, he crushed the so called Millenium Ring and saved his friends. However, when Jordan found out his cousin, Alexis, was most likely captured as well, he seperated himself from the two Slifers and ran off by himself._**

**_Meanwhile, Jaden had managed to tear a large hole into Titan's Life Points, but in doing so, provoked the wrath of the Shadow Duelist and the Millenium Item he wielded._**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**T: 1900  
J: 600**

"That's it boy. You're Life Points are all but gone, and soon, you will be nothing more than a soulless, hollow, shell! Feel yourself drifting boy...feel yourself drifting...,"

Jaden fell to one knee, staring at the Millenium Item in the Shadow Duelist's hand, his voice getting fainter and his vision becoming more and more blurry.

_I...I can't see anymore...what's...happening to me?_

The glow died and Titan smirked as he watched Jaden fall victim to the power of the Shadow Realm. _Look at him suffer..._ he gloated mentally _The shadows are indeed a powerful weapon...especially the Shadows of your very mind. If only he knew!_

All Jaden could see around him was a veil of darkness. No matter where he looked, nothing but shadows surrounded him.

_Alexis...I'm...sorry _he said sadly, not noticing that his own deck was glowing a bright light. A soft hooting sound made him look up to see a small orb of light that danced around him. "Hey, is that you,Winged Kuriboh?" he called out softly.

The orb of light continued to dance all around him, as if it were trying to tell him something. He weakly waved at it, "Whoa...slow down Kuriboh. That light of yours is gonna hypnotize me more than help me! I-," he stopped and looked straight ahead. Kuriboh's ball of light was directly in front of the Shadow Duelist, only now, something was different. Something had changed. He looked hard at his opponent and noticed the shadows surround both Kuriboh and Titan had been pushed back, revealing the strange room he saw before the Pandemonium Field card was played.

_That's it!_ he opened his eyes to find himself back in the game _We're not dueling in the shadows...he's playing with my mind!_

"No more...," Jaden rose to his feet, "I've got this Shadow Game scam figured out now...,"

-----

"Shadow Game scam?" Chumley asked.

"What does he mean?" Syrus added.

Siho chuckled and brushed back some of his ebony mane, "What it means is...Jaden's come to his senses,"

"It's like the duel between you and Kairi?" Jordan asked, glancing at him.

Siho nodded, "Only...much more refined...,"

-----

"My soul's not on the serving plate anymore! Now c'mon, let's keep going!" Jaden drew his next card while Titan looked on, growing nervous.

_What's going on? What isn't he trembling anymore?_ he wondered.

"First, I'm gonna activate my Dark Catapulter's special ability! It allows me to remove one card from my Graveyard for every turn Catapulter was in defense mode for. Next, for every card I remove, I get to destroy one Spell or Trap card out in play on the field!" Jaden reached downward and removed a card from the Graveyard slot, "Since he was in Defense Mode for one turn, I'll remove Avian from the game and destroy that Pandemonium card of yours!".

Jaden's Dark Catapulter leaned forward, a ball of electrical energy gathering between the two spires on it's back, aimed directly at Titan's Spell Card.

"Storm Shower Blast!"

"Uh oh...," Titan held up his duel disk in front of him just as the burst of energy collided with him. Within moments, his Field card was blasted and bone statues disappeared from the field, leaving the group in the room from before.

Gritting his teeth, Titan held up his Millenium Item, "So what? You haven't destroyed _this_!"

Jaden grinned, "Be careful what you wish for...because you might just get it!" he tossed his faithful Avian card as hard as he could and watched as it became stuck right in the eye of the Millenium Item.

"What...what did you do!?" Titan cried as Jaden's body reverted to normal, no longer missing any parts.

"Alright! Jaden got his body back!" Syrus shouted happily. Jaden looked at him, "Never _did_ lose it, Sy. This whole Shadow Game thing was just a big fake. Nothing but a bunch of smoke and mirrors used to make me _think_ I was losing my soul," he explained, "I mean, this guy is a complete sham, he's probably nothing than just an out of work carny!"

"I'm not out of work!" Titan protested, "I can get my job back at the fair anytime I want!"

"I'm sure you could...and I'm sure that paper mache Millenium Item goes over real well with the kiddies," Jaden added.

Titan began to sweat, "No! Shut up! It's real! _I'm_ real!"

"You're nothing but a sideshow phoney!"

"FOOL! You forget, I still have the girl!" Titan reminded him, smirking.

-----

"Alexis...,"

Jordan was about to charge at the Shadow Duelist but was quickly held back by his collar thanks to Siho having a tight hold on it.

"Let me go, Zolaro! I'm gonna go and kick this guy's ass for touching the only family I got left!" Jordan snapped.

_Only family...?_ Siho pulled him back and whopped him over the head, _hard_, "Listen you idiot, Jaden's got this under control, so just get those panties of yours out of your buttcrack and be patient!"

-----

Titan chuckled, "Yes...you remember the girl? She's locked away in a Shadow Tomb, her soul festering in the dark recesses of the Netherworld! That proves that this Millenium Pendant is real!" he cried triumphantly, holding up his cracked Item, "What do you have to say to that?!"

"Besides that your a big dunce?" Jaden shot back, "The walls of this dorm were covered with sketches of the seven Millenium Items. The one you're holding? It's called the Millenium _Puzzle_ not the Millenium Pendant!"

Titan gulped _Damn! He figured it out! Screw the money!_

Jaden looked hard at him, "You don't have Alexis' soul at all, so give her back and all the other kids you snatched!" he ordered.

"Other kids?" Titan asked, "I don't know what your talking about! Just because you made that lousy carney comment, you can find your friend by yourself!" he snapped, throwing something at his feet. There was a bright flash in the room and soon the area was filled with smoke.

"No way!" Jaden bolted head on through the thick smoke, "You're not getting away that easy, get back here!"

-----

"So wait, that's it?" Christina looked at Siho and Syrus, "We can finally go home now?" she asked them. Chumley nodded, "Seems like it. Jaden saw through the trick and the duel's over...,"

Out of the corner of his eye, Siho saw a flicker of light. He turned to see the mouths of the statues that lined the walls of the room began to glow.

"I don't think so guys...somethings up!"

-----

Jaden and Titan watched as about a dozen beams of light appeared from all directions and merged together in the middle of the floor, right between them. It peirced through the smoke of Titan's smokebomb and formed a huge glowing eye in the floor.

"Wow...," Jaden breathed, looking around him, focused on the symbol, "How'd you do that cool trick?".

Titan backed away from the symbol, eyes wide behind his mask, "I...didn't...,"

All of a sudden, a wind picked up, swirling the smoke around them like a dark tornado from the heavens. Jaden watched the twister surround them, wind blowing hard like nothing he had seen before.

"What the-?!"

The smoke quickly covered the two of them and soon, the smoke was replaced by a perfect sphere of darkness, crackling with energy.

Siho ran up to the orb, eyes wide, "Sonofa...Jaden, can you hear me?!" he yelled, "If you can hear me, follow the sound of my voice and come back!". Christina walked up behind him, jaw hanging low, "I don't believe it...,"

-----

"What is this place?!" Titan demanded, fear filling his voice, "Where am I?!"

Jaden scowled, "Enough of the tricks, already! Where's Alexis!"

"_Trick_?" Titan looked away from the darkness, towards him, "I couldn't do anything like this! I'm not that good!"

A shriek made the two of them turn to see a large mass of black blobs coming at them. Jaden stared _What in the world? This guys got everything in his bag of tricks..._

Titan, however, was unfortunate. He was soon assaulted by the blobs as they began to cover every inch of his body. "Jaden! Help me! Get these things off of m-," his cry for help was cut off as a blob launched itself into his mouth, muffling his scream.

Jaden was about to step forward, when he noticed that he had his own group of black blobs were surrounding him, "What the...,". He couldn't move to the sides, or backward to avoid them and they were closing in around him fast.

That's when he heard it. The same hoot from his friend that helped him many times before. He looked down at his deck and was startled to see a small ball of brown fuzz trying to escape from the deck. What amazed him even more was the furball was Winged Kuriboh itself, in all it's cute glory, wings and all.

He rubbed his eyes, "Ok...I think I'm cracking up. First I hear you, now I'm seeing you? What in the world is going on here?". Kuriboh gave a small hoot before flying down to his feet, glaring at the blobs, which seemed to retreat a small bit at the sight of the Duel Monster.

"Jaden Yuki...,"

Jaden looked up as he heard his name. Titan was no longer covered by the mass of slimey blobs, but he wasn't like he was before. His voice was more sinister and his eyes were glowing bright red behind his mask.

"The Shadows yearn for a fresh soul...only one will survive...,"

Jaden slumped his shoulders, "Oh c'mon! Let this go! Now you got red contacts? Man, you really went overboard preparing for this didn't you?"

Titan raised his duel disk and the army of blobs formed a large circle around them, "The duel will continue here in the Shadow Realm, Jaden...and you will lose your soul!!" he rasped as both Archfiend and Dark Catapulter appeared back on the field.

Jaden grinned, "Still with the Shadow Realm stuff huh? Well at least we can finish the match," he took a card from his hand and inserted it into his disk, "I play the Spell Card, Monster Reincarnation! By discarding one card from my hand, I can bring a monster back from the Graveyard to my hand!" he exchanged the cards and slapped the one he received from the Graveyard, "C'mon back, Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)!"

Titan watched as the gold and blue armored Hero appeared on the field, in a defensive crouch, "Very well...my turn," he raised his hand to his deck.

"Don't forget, Mr Tall, Dark and Scary! Without your Pandemonium Spell card, you gotta pay 500 Life Points in order to keep an Archfiend on the field!" Jaden reminded him.

Smog slowly poured out of his opponent's mouth as his Life Points dwindled.

**T: 1400  
J: 600**

Titan smirked, "A few hundred Life Points is nothing compared to a soul...Skull Archfiend of Lightning, attack!" he orded. Immediately, his Archfiend let out a torrent of electricity that struck Dark Catapulter directly, blowing it to bits.

Jaden lowered his arm as the attack died down, "Geez...you don't hold back on the tricks, do ya?"

"I now place one card facedown and I summon Desrook Archfiend (1100/1800) in Attack Mode to end my turn...," Titan growled as his new Archfiend appeared along side the more powerful one.

Kuriboh hooted and looked at Jaden who smiled, "No worries, Kuriboh! I'm still in this duel," he said assuringly as he drew his next card. He looked at it, _They say the best defense is a good offense. Lucky for me, this card let's me do both..._

"Sparkman, I'm putting you in attack mode and arming you with the Equip spell card, Spark Blaster!" Jaden inserted the magic card into the slot as his Hero rose to an offensive stance, newly equipped with a high-tech firearm in it's hand, "This gun has three blasts, and each one lets me change the position of any monster on the field, and I think I know just who to use it on first...,"

Titan chuckled again, "So be it...change the position of my Skull Archfiend of Lightning. His 1200 defense points should make him an easy target for conquest. Unless...," he paused as an all too familiar six set of balls appeared, "If the roulette wheel stops you,"

"Sorry, but he's not the one I'll be using the Spark Blaster on. In fact, Sparkman's not gonna use it yet! Sparkman, attack Desrook Archfiend with Static Shockwave!" Jadne ordered, pointing to the weaker Archfiend.

Sparkman held up it's empty hand and shot out a lightning blast of energy, striking the Archfiend head on, destroying it completely.

**T: 900  
J: 600**

"Oh, and as to who I'm gonna use the Spark Blaster on? Sparkman himself!"

Sparkman lowered it's blaster and fired off a round at it's feet, making it kneel down into defense position.

"Coward!" Titan stared hard at Jaden, "You use your Sparkman to damage my Life Points, then use your own card to make him switch to defend your own. But it doesn't matter, it won't save you from this!" he pressed a button on his disk and his facedown card rose up, "The Trap Card, Battle Scarred! Now, the 500 points needed to keep Archfiend on the field affects your as well, for as long as he stays on the field!"

**T: 400  
J: 100**

"This is bad...," Jaden winced at the loss of his Life Points, "I won't be able to last another turn...but I still got Sparkman!"

Titan shook his head, "Not anymore...Skull Archfiend, destroy that peon! Blast Stream of Fury!" he commanded. His Archfiend roared and sent out another blast of electrical energy straight at Sparkman, who cried in pain before exploding.

"Next, I'll place a card facedown and then play the Spell Card, Double Spell!" Titan continued, inserting a card into a slot, "Now, but simply discarding of the Spell Cards from my hand, I can use a Spell Card from your Graveyard and I choose Emergency Provisions!"

The card appeared in Titan's hand, making the grin wider, "Now, by sacrificing a useless card...," he looked down at his facedown to see it dissolve away, "I can gain 1000 Life Points!"

**T: 1400  
J: 100**

"It's useless to resist, boy. You have no monsters on the field, and no other cards in your hand!" Titan waved his hand to the small blobs that surrounded them, "Now, when Battle Scarred takes your last Life Points, you're soul will be forever trapped here in the Shadow Realm!"

Jaden looked down at the horde of slime creatures as Kuriboh fended them off. _I better make this turn count...either way, this will be my last one!_ he thought as he drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!"

A stocky man in blue armor and matching cape, with water hoses attached to his gloves appeared on the field, facing down the Skull Archfiend without fear.

"Now, Bubbleman would just burst if he's left alone. So, if he's the last card in my hand when I summon him, I'm allowed to summon another monster. Also, if he's the only card on the field when he's summoned, I get to draw two more cards," Jaden took the top two from his deck and looked at them, "Well what do ya know? I just drew his favorite..Bubble Shuffle!"

Jaden shrugged, "Ok, so it's actually a two step, but here's how it goes. I put my monster and your monster both in defense mode, then I get to sacrifice Bubbleman to bring out another monster!"

"Only if my Skull Archfiends ability doesn't stop you from succeeding," Titan waved his hand to the Roulette Wheel floating next to him, "If this Roulette lands on a one, three or six, your pathetic Magic Card fails to activate!"

Jaden groaned, "Aw man...I have the worst luck with this thing...," he muttered, eyes focused on the Roulette Wheel, watching the fireball move around the set of balls until it came to a complete stop one of them.

It was the number two ball.

"What?! Two?!" Titan stared in shock at the result. Jaden pumped his arm, "Yes! Finally, I won!" he laughed as both the Bubbleman and the Archfiend knelt down into defense position.

"Now, let's give a big Shadow Realm welcome to Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/2200)!" Jaden cried as a golden armored being stepped onto the field, large gold blades protruding out of it's arms and legs.

"I know what you're thinking. 'He looks pretty sharp!' and you're right! He's so sharp, when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between his attack points and the monsters defense points act as points dealt to you as damage! Bladedge, show him how you got your name, Slice and Dice attack!"

Bladedge soared fullspeed at the Skull Archfiend and passed right through it effortlessly. Titan stepped back as the Archfiend was soon covered in large gashes, light pouring out of it right before it exploded in a fiery pillar of smoke.

**T: 0  
J: 100**

"NOOOO!!!" Titan screamed as he was once again, attacked by the horde of slime balls. He slowly began to sink into the floor and was nearly gone from sight when he began to fight back, head barely above the horde. "Help me!" he pleaded, "Get them off of me!!"

Jaden could only watch as Titan fought helpelessly against the creatures _Wow...sweet special effects..._

"Tell...my daughter...I love...," those were the last words of Titan as he was completely devoured by the slime creatures.

-----

"OW!"

"Siho, you ok?!" Christina ran over to Siho and found that Jaden had jumped out of the orb and had landed right on top of her old friend. Siho looked up at Jaden, "Look, I understand the attaction, Jaden, but I'm just not that sort of guy..,"

Jordan turned away from untying his cousin in the coffin, "About damn time! What the hell happened in there?" he snapped.

Jaden was about to answer when the orb began to pulsate, sparks flying everywhere.

"HIT THE DECK!" Christina screamed, diving headfirst onto the floor. Siho ran over and covered her with his own body while Jordan tried to keep Alexis in place as the orb began to suck everything in, namely the coffin she was laying in.

The orb continued to pulsate until it shrank into nothingness. Siho looked over his shoulder, "You guys ok?" he called out.

"I think so...I think Chumley might've broken something...," came Syrus' weak reply.

"Hey, I just saved you, Syrus!"

"I'm fine...," Jordan called back, waving at them, "So is my cousin. Jaden...how about you?"

"...yeah...," Jaden groaned, sitting up, "Yeah, I'm fine...," he looked up at the ceiling where the orb had stayed, watching bits of glowing balls fall to the floor and began to clap, "That was awesome! What do you think he does for an encore you guys?"

Siho sat up, looking hard at Jaden, "What happened in there?" he asked quietly. Jaden turned to him and smiled widely, "Just about the best magic trick ever! There were all these little monsters everywhere!"

Syrus looked at him, "Magic trick? You don't think that was the real Shadow Realm?"

"Nah...just smoke and mirrors, like I said before. Although," Jaden scratched his head, "I'd give my entire deck just to know how he pulled it off!"

-----

Sometime later, that night, Crowler entered the room where the duel had taken place, flashlight leading his way.

"Shadow Duelist?" he called out, looking around, "Come on out, I want to hear every little detail!". He stopped walking when he caught sight of a form sitting on the floor. He slowly approached the figure and with the help of his flashlight, he saw that it was the girl from before, the daughter of the Shadow Duelist.

"You there, where's your father?" he demanded.

"...he's gone...,"

Crowler frowned, "Gone, what do you mean, gone?".

Kairi slowly stood up and held out a card. Crowler shined his light on the card and scowled, "Pandemonium?! If it's here...then that freak must've lost the duel! DAMMIT!" Crowler tugged at his hair, "What am I going to have to do to expell Jaden?!".

"...what am I supposed to do?"

Crowler stopped his fit and looked at Kairi, who had a very sad look on her face, "What do you mean? Go catch up with that bum of a duelist and leave!"

Kairi lowered her head, "He's gone...I dunno where he went...but he's not here anymore...,"

"...I see...well then...uh...," Crowler rubbed his head _Great, now I have another problem with another brat on my hands! Why me?!_

-----

"Alexis...,"

"Alexis? Can you hear us?"

"Ease off on her guys, or I'll pound you,"

Alexis slowly opened her eyes to see Jaden's group and Jordan sitting around her. She held her head and blinked, "Uh...what happened? Where are we?" she moaned, her head pounding.

"Some creepy freak took ya captive, Cuz...," Jordan explained, helping her up, "I got caught too but Siho helped me out, while Jaden saved you,". Alexis looked to Jaden and Siho, "You helped us?" she asked quietly.

Siho shrugged, "To be honest, I meant to only help Chrissy, but he got tangled in it too...Jaden did, however, mean to save you and he did,". Christina hopped onto Siho's back, "Guess this means I can't tell your mom about how you're doing here right?" she asked.

"Damn straight,"

"Uh guys...sun's coming up," Chumley said, pointing to the treeline of the forest. Alexis looked around to see that she and the others were outside the Abandoned Dorm and the sun was indeed, coming up.

"Aw man...," Jaden stood up and dusted himself off, "We better jet before they notice that we're not there...catch you later guys!".

Jordan and Alexis stood there quietly as the Slifers ran down the dirt path back toward campus. "Oh by the way...," Jordan pulled out something from his blazer pocket and held it out to his cousin, "We found your card...,".

Alexis looked down to see one of her dancer cards and smiled, "Thanks...," she looked ahead to the group running away, "What do you think of them, Cuz?" she asked. Jordan folded his arms across his chest, "...they're something, that's all I'm gonna say...,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: again, hope I did that right...hehehe still my first rewrite here, so hopefully luck is on my side! What does the future hold for the gang in the next chapter? Stick around and find out! ja ne!**


	17. Bad Memory, Great Card!

**Bad Memory, Great Card!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

All alone, he stood on the dock, staring out at the dark waters of the sea that surrounded the island. His only source of light was the beam that came from the lighthoure behind him. He had come there to ponder some things that were on his mind.

"Zane?"

Zane Truesdale turned away from his gazing and saw both Alexis and Vahn walking up to them. He turned back to the view, "What are you two doing here?" he asked quietly.

"We could ask you the same question, Truesdale," Vahn said, putting his hands behind his back, "You thinking up strategies for duels, or just...thinking about stuff?" he asked.

"Nothing like that...I just felt like being alone," Zane answered.

Alexis and Vahn walked to either side of Zane, both standing alongside him. Alexis glanced at him, "You know, I thought that feeling would disappear because your little brother enrolled here,".

"Hard to believe the Kaiser of the school has the Slifer Shrimp as his little brother...," Vahn chuckled.

"Vahn!" Alexis scolded.

"Hey, I'm not putting him down because he's a Slifer, I'm just saying he's real short," Vahn said defensively, holding up his hands, "Believe me, the last thing I wanna do is act like Chazz Princeton...,"

Zane shifted slightly, "Alexis...I don't think he's supposed to be here,"

She looked at him, "What are you talking about Zane?"

"What I mean is Syrus does not belong here at all...he shouldn't have come and enrolled in the first place!"

-----

"Twenty-three...twenty-four...twenty-five...,"

Christina let go of the over hanging bar in her dorm room and wiped her forehead with a nearby towel, "I'll get the other twenty-five later...,". Every morning, for as long as she was old enough, she had been doing a routine of different excercises, and she had finished doing her pull-ups.

Her father told her that if she was to defend herself in the worst of situations, she'd have to be physically capable, so he started her on the training regimen of both exercises and martial-arts training.

She plopped down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling, her towel around her neck, "Well...so far, so good. Looks like we got away with trespassing. I wonder what else we could get away with...," she rubbed her hands together and chuckled darkly.

A loud beeping sound made her stop her evil genius impersonation. She reached over and pulled her Duel Academy PDA off of her desk to find an envelope symbol blinking on the screen.

"I've got mail!" she said, excited, "Hope it's the card shop...c'mon...new rare card shipment!". She pressed the symbol on the screen and a small document came up for her to read.

**Miss Berg,**

**Today, you will be getting a roommate and we expect you to get along with her and show her that we at Duel Academy are friendly and supportive.**

**Sincerely,**

**Chancellor Shephard.**

"A roommate? I'm getting a roommate?" Christina scratched her head, "Well there goes my fun time...wonder who it is...,".

A loud screeching sound made her jump slightly in her spot, dropping her PDA. "Oh great...," she growled, walking outside. Once outside, she saw a large black jeep sitting a few yards away, a dozen men and women black uniforms and berets jumping out of it.

"Aren't you kids a little too _old_ to be playing War?"

Christina turned to see Banner, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "Morning, teach...who the heck are they?" she pointed to the militaristic people, "Big fans of Tom Clancy?".

Banner watched as the group of men and women made their way up the stairway nearby, "Uh oh...that's the Disciplinary Action Squad!" he held his head, "They only show up when a student is in _serious_ trouble!"

_Oh...crap..._ Christina slowly turned to see that the Squad was marching towards one side of the building, and not dividing up into two groups.

"Looks like they're headed for Jaden's room!" she turned to Banner, "I'm surprised they aren't moving to my and Siho's rooms...,"

He frowned, "You and Siho? What did you two do?" he inquired.

Panicking, Christina stepped back, "Nothing, I just mean..uh...I gotta go," she darted back to her room and closed the door behind her, leaving Pharaoh to paw at her door.

-----

"Open this door right now or we will break it open!"

Jaden opened his eyes and sat up in bed as a loud knocking came from his door. He squinted and saw a woman with a beret standing outside his door window. Yawning, he walked over, "Jeez...fine. You and what army?"

"The Disciplinary Action Squad Army!"

He opened the door and was surprised to see a large group of people in black standing outside his dorm room.

The woman looked him over, "You must be Jaden Yuki...,"

"Uh...yeah...so what's going on?"

Ignoring the question, she looked over his shoulder to one of the sleeping roommates. She frowned as she caught sight of the light blue hair, "I take it that's Syrus Truesdale/" she asked.

Jaden nodded, "Yeah...so who are you guys, and why are you here?".

The woman looked down at him as Syrus climbed out of bed and walked over, "As I said, we are the Disciplinary Action Squad and you two are under campus arrest!".

"Arrest?" Jaden raised an eyebrow, "What did we do?".

"That will be made clear to you at the interrogation," she informed them, "Now get dressed!"

-----

The two Slifer's had an idea why they were now standing in a large, circular room with about five or six giant TV screens, each one with a different person on them. Three of them they knew well: Doctor Crowler, Chancellor Shephard, and the woman from the D.A.S. Not only did they know why there were they...they found out what was going to happen because of it.

"_Suspension_?!" they asked at the same time.

"That's why I suggest," the D.A.S. woman replied, "You two have trespassed into the Abandoned Dorm in the woods, which is _strictly forbidden_, and we have recieved an anonymous letter from a faculty member who backs it up. You two must be punished to make an example for all the students!"

Crowler nodded, "But what kind of an example are we setting, that we are a bunch of hard-hearted tyrants? _I _say that we arrange something more sporting...,"

"Sporting?" Jaden looked at Crowler's monitor, "What do ya mean?"

"Well Jaden...how about you and Syrus team up and play a tag-duel," Crowler suggested, "Win and you go free...lose, and you both are expelled?"

"A tag-duel?" Jaden smiled at the idea, "That sounds sweet!".

Syrus turned to him, his face saying that he really didn't agree with him, "B-but Jaden! He said we'll get expelled if we lose!" he whispered.

"Chancellor, what do you say? I believe they have accepted the conditions...,"

Shephard nodded, "Very well...I'll arrange it immediately,"

"Oh now, Chancellor," Shephard chuckled, looking back at Jaden and Syrus, "Don't worry yourself about this! Allow me to find some opponents for these boys,"

-----

"You wanted to see my Chumley?"

The larger and older Slifer boy nodded as he stood in front of the Chancellor's desk, "Yeah. Look, I...I was at the Abandoned Dorm too! I should be the one to duel with Jaden,"

"No, it should be me,"

Chumley turned to see Alexis walk up to the desk, the automatic door closing behind her. Chumley wasn't the only one surprised to see her, Chancellor Shephard's face said that he wasn't expecting this either.

"They were helping me, sir, it's mostly my fault they were there," she said as she stepped directly in front of Shephard.

Chumley shifted, "That's so bogus, Alexis. It's totally my fault. I was the one that lead them to the Abandoned Dorm, because I wanted to check out the...Abandoned Cafeteria...,"

"Fat chance, Chumley," Alexis bowed slightly, "Please, Chancellor, let _me_ be Jaden's partner...,"

Shephard couldn't help but smile at the two of them, "I'm sorry, but the decision is final. Syrus will be Jaden's partner and I'm sure that he'll do just fine,"

Chumley and Alexis looked at each other, both of them thinking that it wasn't going to be as easy for Syrus as it would be for Jaden. This was going to be a hard punishment.

-----

After visiting the Chancellor, as Chumley made his way back to his dorm room, he noticed that Christina's dorm was open. He walked over and noticed that the room had a couple of large luggage bags lying around.

Christina sat on the desk, shaking her head, "Why me? Do I really need a roommate?"

"Uh...Christina? Something wrong? You don't look as happy as usual...," Chumley said, inching his way into the room. She lifted her head and smiled slightly, "Just peachy...I got me a new roommate and apparently, all her stuff made it here before she did, so...,"

"You don't like roommates?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Well...it's not that, it's just that," she sighed and hopped off the desk, "Back at home, I had to share my room most of the time because my relatives would come by alot and I wouldn't have any privacy, and when I finally get my own room here, I get news I'm getting a roommate!".

"Wow...that sucks. I'm an only child so...," Chumley shrugged, "I don't think I'd be of any help,"

Christina sighed again, "Well...I guess all I can do is hope that it's no snobby princess-type. Those chicks make my skin crawl," she shivered.

"Uh...well...good luck with that,"

She waved as her fellow Slifer left, "Adios, amigo...,". Christina rubbed her head, "Well...too late to turn back now...might as well make the most of it," she thought aloud before putting away some of her things to make room for her roomate and her things.

"So this is the Slifer Dorm...," a new, yet familiar voice greeted. Christina slowly rose and turned around to see a girl with short blonde hair and sapphire eyes. _Whew...ok, false alarm_ she thought with a smile as she walked up to the new girl, "Welcome to Duel Academy. I'm your roommate, Christina,"

The girl smiled and shook her hand, "Hi Christina...," she looked down, "Glad you don't have any rope burns, huh?"

"..."

-----

"So what did he say?!"

Chumley had barely entered the room before Syrus latched onto him, a miserable look his face.

"Did he say yes?!" he sobbed, "Please say he said yes! If I'm Jaden's partner, I'll get us both expelled!"

"I _tried_ Syrus!" Chumley pushed him away, "I even lied and said that I was the on that led you guys to the dorm!".

"Well, you _did_ lead us to it's cafeteria...," Jaden offered as he sat at his desk, going through his deck, "So in a way, you did lead us there...,"

Syrus turned to his friend, "How can you be so calm about this, Jaden? Aren't you scared that I'm gonna get us kicked out?".

Still going through his cards, Jaden shook his head, "Nah...," he looked at Syrus, "I wouldn't have any other partner,"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Syrus cried.

Jaden smiled, "Look, Syrus...we're gonna go in there, duel our best and win the match. Know why?"

"No not really...,"

"Cause you and I are gonna work out our kinks right now," Jaden rose from his chair, "Now, go get your deck, 'cause we are gonna duel,"

"Uh...," Syrus stood there silently for a few moments, "W-what?"

-----

"No way, absolutely no way, forget it!"

"Ok, now just calm down...,"

"Hell no! I ain't gonna calm down, Siho!"

Christina and Siho stood in front of Banner, the former looking very mad and red in the face.

"Well...Christina, please, will you tell me why you won't let Miss Lumina in the room? She _is_ your roommate," Banner pointed out.

_Yeah a roommate that kidnapped me in the old dorm..._ Christina thought, "Look...I have my reasons, ok? She. Has. Got. To. Go...,"

Banner shrugged, "There's nothing I can do, Christina, I apologize. I'm sorry...,"

The two Slifers left their professor's room and Christina punched the wall hard, "Dammit! I don't believe this!"

Siho held up his hands, "C'mon...Christina. Now, are you absolutely _sure_ that it's her?" he asked quietly.

Christina nodded rapidly, "Hell ya! It's a different look, but it's the same voice _and_ she said it was a good thing I didn't have any rope burns!"

He was about to answer when he noticed Chumley walk by, heading to the cliff near the dorm room. Tilting his head, he watched him stand at the edge, looking down at something, "Now what's going on?"

-----

"Ok guys, remember, this is just a practice duel for your tag-duel, so go easy!" Chumley called out to his friends down below.

He noticed that Jaden had a large smile on his face while Syrus looked like was about to wet his pants, if the waves nearby didn't do that for him first.

"Then again...maybe Jaden doesn't know how to go easy...,"

"That's probably a good thing...,"

Chumley jumped and turned to see Siho, Alexis and Christina walking up to him, Christina not looking too happy about something, "What do you mean?" he asked.

Siho stuffed his hands in his blazer, "Heard from Alexis what they're supposed to do, and if you ask me, Jaden not going easy is a good thing...,"

"Yeah," Alexis nodded in agreement, "Believe me, I know Dr Crowler and the people he could get, most likely aren't pushovers. Both Jaden and Syrus need to be at their best, because if they're not, they'll both be expelled...,"

"...dibs on his comic books!"

Siho turned to his friend, "Chrissy, two things. One: I'm sure they won't lose. Second: What makes you think he has comic books?"

"Why else would he have those Elemental Heroes? I mean, hello...they're superhero monsters!"

-----

"Alright Syrus...," Jaden inserted his deck and waved towards his friend, "Get your game on buddy and let's have some fun!"

Syrus sighed, "Yeah...fun...sure, whatever. Might as well have some fun before we fail and get kicked out of here,".

"Uh...what was that?"

"Oh..uh, nothing!"

"Then, let's duel!"

Again, he sighed, "Yeah yeah...let's duel...,"

**J: 4000  
S: 4000**

Jaden drew his hand, "Here I come, Syrus...," he drew his card and looked at his hand, _Sweet..._

"I summon Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in Attack Mode, then I'll throw down a facedown. Your go," he said as his winged warrior appeared in front of him.

Syrus drew his card, "Let's see...," he looked at the card he had just drawn and smiled_, Oooh! My Patroid has enough power to take down Avian!_

"Hey, Syrus...what's that smile for, you just get something good?" Jaden called out to him.

Panicking, Syrus nodded, "Uh...yeah I think so. I summon Patroid (1200/1200) in Attack Mode!" he declared as a strange monster appeared. It looked like a car from an old kid's show, complete with big eyes, and a police hat on it's roof, it's wheels sticking out like arms and legs.

"Now, attack with Siren Smasher!"

Patroid zipped off towards Avian, it's siren blaring and beaming out red lights, aimed straight at the winged Hero.

"Not so fast, Syrus! I play my Trap, Negate Attack!" Jaden declared as his facedown card rose upward. The Trap Card unleashed a strange vortex that forced Patroid backwards, away from Avian, leaving his Hero safe and sound.

"Aw man...," Syrus moaned, "I should've known your facedown was a Trap...,"

-----

"Duh...Syrus walked right into that one," Chumley muttered, shaking his head, "Can't believe he did that...,"

A low mewling sound made the Slifers and Obelisk look down to see Pharaoh rubbing against their legs

"Kawaii! Kitty!" Christina squealed, picking up the fat cat, "Good boy, Pharaoh! You wanna help me get back at evil roomie?" she purred.

Deciding to ignore Christina, Alexis looked back at the duel, "This isn't a good sign," she observed, "Those two won't stand a chance in a tag-match if Syrus plays like this...,".

Siho nodded in silent agreement while Christina fawned over Banner's fat pet cat.

-----

"Dirt is great, doncha just thing dirt is the greatest thing?" Syrus asked as he made small designs in the dirt, his back to Jaden.

"Sy! Don't crack on me just yet, you just made one mistake is all,"

Syrus turned around and rose to his feet, "Yeah, the mistake of coming to this school...,"

Jaden shook his head, "No Sy, you just forgot to use Patroid's special power. Once per turn, he lets you check out one of your opponent's facedown cards. You _could've_ seen my Trap," he explained.

"Yeah, I know I'm no good!" Syrus looked away, eyes closed, "I don't belong here,"

"Whoa...hold on. I didn't mean anything like that,"

Syrus lowered his head, "I know that, Jaden...I know you didn't mean it. It's just that...,"

Jaden waved at him, "You're right, I shouldn't butt in. We're opponent's right now and from now on, we should act like it!" he drew his next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in Attack Mode!"

Once again, the familar electrifying Hero appeared next to Avian, sparks flying out everywhere.

"And now...I'll have Sparkman attack Patroid!"

Syrus watched in dismay as Sparkman created a spear of lightning and threw it hard, hitting Patroid directly in the middle. The Patroid let out a sad siren and exploded, blasted by the spear.

**J: 4000  
S: 3600**

"And now, Avian, attack Sy! Windstorm Strike!"

Avian leapt into the air and beat his wings hard, creating a small funnel of dirt before diving right it and knocking Syrus clear off of his feet.

**J: 4000  
S: 2600**

"Finally, I'll place a card facedown and that's my turn," Jaden slipped a card in his disk as Avian came back to him.

Syrus sat up, smiling slightly, "Can I crack up _now_? I just got nailed on both of our turns, I can't win!"

"Of course you can win Syrus!" Alexis called out to him, "You just have to believe in yourself!"

"Either that, or use the Necronomicon!" Siho added jokingly, "That should help someone in someway!"

Chumley glared at Siho before looking back at Syrus, "Alexis is right, Syrus, don't give up! I mean, duh! That's the first thing they teach you in Freshman Dueling class! I should know, I took it twice!" he shouted.

Siho glanced at him, smirking, "Just how _long_ have you been here, Chumley?"

Syrus let the words sink in, then looked at his deck, "He's right. Not only am I dueling for myself here, I'm dueling for Jaden too!". He took a deep breath and pushed himself from the dirt, "It's time I started acting like it!".

-----

_"So, do we understand each other my dear?_"

Kairi nodded as she laid back on the top bunk, phone in her hand, "Yes, we understand each other...you know, you could've gotten me a better place to live,"

_"The conditions were that if I allow you entry to Duel Academy as a student, and do not report those Slifer Slacker you dueled at the old dorm, you wouldn't bring up the arrangement I made with your father!"_

She clicked her tongue, "I know...is there any sign of him yet?"

_"No, Miss Lumina, there isn't. Personally I don't care what happened to him. Now, I'm very busy and I can't spend my free time talking to a blackmailing brat like you!"_

The phone clicked and Kairi put her hands behind her head, "Well...now what?"

-----

"Come on, Syrus you can do this!" Alexis shouted.

Chumley nodded, "Yeah, go for it Syrus! You just gotta believe in yourself, duh!".

Alexis giggled and looked at Chumley, "You know, you're pretty good with words of encouragement...,"

Surprised by the comment, Chumley smiled slightly, "Yeah, I got lots of books on self-esteem and self-confidence. For some reason, my dad keeps getting them for me...,"

"Yeah...wonder why...," Siho patted him on the back, "Well thanks you to, Syrus is back in the duel and not playing in the dirt. Not too shabby, Big Boy,"

"Uh...thanks...,"

Alexis looked back down at her friends, "The only question now is how he plays from here on out...,"

"Alright...here goes nothing," Syrus drew his next card and looked at his hand _Well...I don't have anything that could take down Avian or Sparkman. Looks like I'll have to go with a different strategy_.

He held up a card, "I play the Spell Card, Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw 2 new cards from my deck!". A large green urn with a odd looking face appeared on the field, only to blow up in a puff of smoke as Syrus drew two new cards.

_Huh?!_ Syrus stared at the pair of cards he just drew...well actually, only one of the cards he just drew _Power-Bond...!_

_Judging from Syrus' face...he must've drawn a **sweet** card _Jaden thought as he watched his friend stare at the pair _Wonder what it is..._

"Power-Bond's like Polymerization...only better," Syrus whispered to himself, "If I summon a Machine-Type Fusion monster with this card, it's Attack Points are doubled!". His shoulders slumped and clsoed his eyes, "Oh well...I'm not good enough to play this card...at least according to my brother,"

-Flashback-

**_I'll never forget that day. It was back in grade school and I was dueling this really mean bully. It was my big chance to stand up to him, my big chance to show him that I couldn't be pushed around_**

**S: 1600  
B: 1900**

_"Alright, you're going down!" Syrus drew his next card and smiled, very happy at his luck._

_'Awesome, Power-Bond! The card my brother gave me! I'l win for sure now!' he looked up at the bully, smiling._

_"Quit your stalling, you little pip-squeak! You're gonna lose and you know it, so let's just get it over with!" the bully barked._

_"Yeah, well that's what you think!" Syrus said confidently, "This duel is mine!"_

_"Yeah right!" the bully shot back, "The only thing that's gonna be yours is a serious butt-kicking!"_

_Syrus laughed at him, "Sorry, but I'm not scared of all your nasty threats. Do you hear that? I'm not afraid of you anymore! You know why?" he raised his card, ready to play it, "Cause I'm the one that's gonna take you down!"_

_"STOP!" a voice shouted._

_Syrus stopped in the middle of his happy moment and fell to the ground at the interruption. He sat up and looked behind him, "Hey, who said that?!"_

_A taller, older boy in a blue school uniform walked by, his dark blue hair swaying behind him._

_"Zane?!"_

_His older brother walked to the bully and held out a card, "This duel never happened, got it? Just take this card and go,"._

_The bully looked at the card and laughed, "Nice card...you got yourself a deal,". He swiped the card from Zane's hand and walked away, stuffing it into his pants pocket._

_"What are you doing, Zane?!" Syrus picked himself up, "I was about to win this duel with the card you gave me!"_

_Zane didn't even turn around to face him, "No you weren't, Syrus, and if I had known that you were gonna misplay it, I'd have never given it to you in the first place!" he snapped._

_"Misplay? What are you talking about? I wasn't gonna misplay it!"_

_"Yes you were!" Zane held up a card, "This is the facedown card that kid on the field!"_

_Syrus peered at the card and recognized it as one of the best known Traps in the game, "Spellbinding Circle...?"_

_"That's right! This is a very powerful Trap Card, Syrus. When this Trap is sprung, the monster attacking is forced to stop it's attack and it cannot change it's battle position," Zane explained, "So you would've attacked using a monster you summoned with Power-Bond, and it's attack points would've doubled! But Spellbinding Circle would've prevented you from attacking with it and you would've taken a lot of damage to your Life Points at the end of your turn for using Power-Bond,"_

_He was right and Syrus knew it. Syrus sniffed and lowered his head, on the verge of tears from the scolding._

_"You weren't thinking Syrus...you didn't take into account the facedown card, and you didn't take in account Power-Bonds adverse effect! Sure, you may know how to **use** Power-Bond, but there's a lot more to dueling that just that!"_

-End Flashback-

"Just holding this card again gives me the chills," Syrus continued to look down at the card in his hand, "And what did he mean that just using it wasn't enough?"

"Hey!" Jaden called out to him, "You alright over there, Sy?"

Snapping out of his trance, Syrus shook his head and looked at Jaden, "Uh...I'm fine,". He put Power-Bond back and pulled out a different card, "I play this Spell Card, Polymerization! Now, I'll use it to fuse the Gyroid (1000/1000) and the Steamroid (1800/1800) in my hand to create the Steam Gyroid (2200/1800)!"

A swirling vortex opened up above the two duelists and two strange vehicles appeared on the field, one looking like a cartoony helicopter, and the other one looking like a childrens toy train. Both were sucked into the vortex and moments later, a monster with the Steamroid's body and the Gyroid's fan blades appeared. This was the Steam Gyroid.

"Alright, Steam Gyroid, it's time to go _loco_-motive!"

"BOOO! BAD JOKE! GET OFF THE STAGE!" Christina yelled from above.

"Attack!" Syrus ordered, ignoring the scream, "Train Twister!"

Steam Gyroid rotated it's fans rapidly, creating a tornado funnel that rose high into the air and curved around before slamming into Avian. The Winged Hero struggled for a few moments before hearing a loud whistilng sound. Steam Gyroid soared through the funnel and rammed itself hard into Avian's chest.

**J: 2800  
S: 2600**

"Gotcha...," Syrus taunted, "Have enough, Jaden?"

Jaden's shoulders shook as he laughed loud and hard, "Have I had enough? No way, Sy! You know the old saying 'No pain, no gain'...and with what I have planned, you're gonna get a lot!" he drew his card, "You and I aren't just friends anymore, Syrus, we're rivals and I have the cards to treat you like one!"

He grabbed a couple of cards from his hand, "Now brace yourself! I play the spell card, Polymerization! Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000), unite as one!" he commanded as his large, dirt Hero appeared on the field only to rise into the air.

The air, which a large mass of storm clouds had gathered, thunder rolling and lightning bolts streaking acrosst he sky as they disappeared. Soon, a huge figure descended from the sky, trailing clouds as it fell.

"Here he comes, the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!"

-----

Pharaoh mewed and leapt out of Christina's arms and began to walk away. Alexis saw this and looked up at the falling giant, "That cat's got the right idea...,"

Christina stared at the Hero and nudged Siho, "Sorta reminds you of Bahamut's appearance in Advent Children, huh?"

"Sorta...,"

Chumley looked at Alexis, "C'mon, it's just another monster...,".

"No it's not, Chumley," she said quietly, "Thunder Giant can automatically destroy one monster on the turn he's summoned, if the monster he's targeting has Attack Points that are less or equal to his own," she explained.

"Really?" Chumley's eyes widened, "Then I guess practice is getting out early for Syrus...,"

-----

"Ok Thunder Giant, take out Steam Gyroid!" Jaden ordered his newly summoned Hero.

Thunder Giant roared and raised it's finger to the heavens, using it as a lightning rod. A bolt struck it and he redirected it back up to the sky. Moments later, a shower of bright needles rained down upon Steam Gyroid, hammering it hard and fast. Steam Gyroid let out a panicked whistle before being wiped off the field.

Syrus lowered his arm as the smoke cleared, "Aw man...that leaves me defenseless!" he cried.

"Yeah, it does!" Jaden held up his card, "Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800), I summon you in attack mode!" he cried.

The red-clad heroine appeared on the field and flew around Thunder Giant a few times before stopping in mid-air.

"Now, tag attack!" he ordered, "Thunder Giant, Voltic Thunder!"

Syrus screamed as his body became a current of high voltage power, the electricity coursing through him, knocking him to his knees.

**J: 2800  
S: 200**

"Now, Burstinatrix attack with Flare Storm!"

The Heroine's hands were engulfed into a pair of red-hot fireballs that were pressed together to create a much bigger and fearsome looking fireball before she launched it straight at Syrus.

Syrus backed away as the holo-flames raged around him, destroying the rest of his Life Points without mercy.

**J: 2800  
S: 0**

"That's game!" Jaden said as he gave his two finger salute, "Pretty sweet duel, Syrus...,"

Syrus slowly sat up from his fallen place and looked at his friend as he approached, "I dunno, Jaden...I didn't put up a good enough fight,"

"What are you talking about?" Jaden stopped, a few inches from Syrus, "Sure, I was able to pull it through at the end, but you pulled off some pretty sweet moves there. Although, I'm wondering about something. What was that card you pulled? The one you didn't play?"

Before Syrus could stop him, Jaden bent down and pulled away the card his brother gave him.

Jaden looked at it, "Power-Bond? This is a sweet card, Syrus, why didn't you play it? If you did, your Steam Gyroid's attack would've been doubled! You would've had one tough monster...," he looked down at his friend, grinning, "On second thought, I think it was cool for me that you didn't play it,"

"You don't understand...," Syrus stood up and snatched the card away, "My brother says I'm not good enough to play it and it's obvious that he's right...,"

"Syrus...,"

"It's also obvious that you won't be able to win the tag-duel with me as your partner," Syrus murmured before running off down the beach.

"Hey, wait! Syrus!"

"Syrus!" Chumley yelled at him and ran to cut him off at the pass, with Siho running behind him. Alexis and Christina were left alone on the cliff, looking down, the scene still playing in their minds.

-----

The waves crashed against the rocks as Alexis and Christina walked up to Jaden, who was looking out at the water.

"I guess practice doesn't make perfect...at least not with Syrus, it doesn't," Alexis reasoned.

Jaden frowned, "I don't get it. Syrus is a cool guy, but he doesn't see what I see. He has a problem with believing in himself and he had this awesome spell card, but didn't play it because of his brother telling him not too!"

Christina nodded, "Mhm mhm mhm...I know the feeling...Siho does that with me a few times too,"

Alexis, however, just looked at him, her eyes wide at what she had heard.

Jaden noticed this right off, "What is it Alexis?" he asked, "Did I say something?"

She nodded, "Yeah...that brother of his goes to this school. You've probably heard of him too...,"

"I haven't," Christina said, putting her arms behind her head.

"Yeah, me neither...who are you talking about?" Jaden asked.

Alexis looked at them both, "Hello? Third-Year Obelisk student and the best duelist in the school? He's the Kaiser, the big man on campus! Zane! He's as good as his reputation, maybe even better!"

"Yeah? Well, Alexis," Jaden turned back to the waves, "He doesn't sound like he's very good to his little brother. I wonder what happened to the two them...,"

"Jaden...don't pry," Alexis warned him, "It's their problem, don't get involved,"

Jaden grinned and punched his open palm, "Don't worry...I'm not gonna pry, Alexis. I'm gonna _duel_," he looked at both girls, "I'm gonna duel him and find out what's goin' on!"

"Jaden, you're not listening! No one duels Zane...except maybe Vahn Gale, but that's it!" Alexis protested.

Christina raised an eyebrow, "Oh really...?"

"People duel Zane if their tag-team partner isn't playing up to snuff because of him," Jaden shot back, "I wanna see how I stack up against this guy anyway...," he said with a grin.

_Well...if he's not going to listen to me..._ Alexis shook her head and smiled at him, "Good luck, then Jaden...good luck,"

Christina leaned against a boulder while Jaden threw his fist into the air, "Get ready and watch yourself, Zane! I'm coming for ya!"

_Oh yeah...this is gonna end REAL well _Christina thought with a grin _Now if I can just find out how to solve my evil-roommate-is-a-kidnapping-duelist problem..._


	18. Zane vs Jaden: Duel for Syrus!

**Zane vs Jaden: Duel for Syrus!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. If I did...that corny Loco-Motive crack Syrus made in the last chapter wouldn't have been said!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Jaden walked down the hallways of Duel Academy, the automatic doors hissing as they opened for him and closed behind him. He was looking for the path to take in order to take on Zane, the guy who made Syrus feel like he isn't a duelist at all. Alexis' words still echoed through his skull as he entered a large room.

_"His older brother goes to this school, Jaden. You've probably heard of him, the Kaiser of Duel Academy,"_

_"What do you mean, Alexis?"_

_"Hello? Third-Year Obelisk and best duelist of the Academy, the big man on campus...Zane!"_

"I cannot believe this Zane guy...," Jaden mumbled as he sat down at a table in the cardshop, a form paper in his hand, "It's because of him, Sy's got no confidence at all. If my big bro told me that I wasn't good enough to use a good card, I'd be insecure too. But now...that's all gonna change," he paused his writing and tapped his cheek with his pencil, _I wonder...do you spell Zane with two N's? Man, these Duel Request forms are a drag..._

Jaden was too busy filling out the form, he didn't notice Doctor Crowler creeping up behind him.

"Duel Request form?" Crowler reached over Jaden's shoulder and swiped the form away, scanning it, "Planning a duel eh? Against who?". His eyes bugged out and he smirked, "You _must_ be joking...,"

Jaden reached out, wanting to take back his form, "No I'm not! I'm gonna take Zane on in a duel to boost Syrus' confidence for our tag-match," he explained.

Crowler huffed, "Ah yes, the big tag-team duel...the one where if you both lose, you'll both be expelled?" he shook his head, "Now you say that dueling Zane will prepare you for the match? Well that's too bad, because there will be no duel,".

Jaden watched in horror as Crowler ripped his Duel Request form to bits and pieces, laughing as he did so, "Hey!"

-----

"Look, it's not you, it's me. I'm sorry, but I just can't use you in my deck anymore. I gotta make room for another Koala...,"

Chumley sat on a tree branch, his deck spread out before him, and a koala card in his hand. He looked at the deck, the card and nodded, "Yeah...fifteen ought to be enough,"

"Dude, you have a serious problem with koalas,"

He looked above him to see Siho laying on a tree branch lazily, leafing through a thick book, "What do you mean? Koala's rule, dude,"

"If you say so...,"

Chumley scowled, "They do! Besides, shouldn't you be looking through your deck, Siho, instead of reading a book?"

"This books helps me understand my deck," Siho shot back.

"Oh yeah? What's it called?"

Siho sat up and showed him the title of the book: **The Ultimate Zombie Survival Guide**

"...uh...ok...," Chumley blinked, "Why are you reading that?"

"Cuz it helps me understand my deck, as I said before. Besides, you never know when zombies are gonna take over the earth," Siho explained, leaning back again.

Chumley rolled his eyes and began to scoop up his cards when most of them slid off and fell from the tree branch. He tried to get them all, but ended up clinging for dear life, hanging upside down from the branch...looking like one of the koala's he loved so much.

"Hey guys!"

Both Siho and Chumley looked down to see Jaden standing underneath them, Chumley's scattered cards at his feet.

"Hey, Jaden...waddup?" Chumley greeted, still clinging onto the branch.

Jaden just smiled and bent down to pick up his friends cards. He couldn't help but laugh at what he saw, "Chumley, there's like...a zillion koala cards here!"

Chumley smiled, "Yeah, Koala's so rule...hey, you wanna have a pick-up duel against 'em?"

"Yeah, that'll end well. Besides, I wanna try out my undead army against his Heroes," Siho said as he began to slide down the tree, "What do you say, Jaden?"

"A pick up duel...?" Jaden smacked himself in the head, "Duh, why didn't I think of that? Thanks guys!" he turned back the way he came and started to run off.

_Uh..._ Siho waved after him, "Where are you going?" he yelled.

"The Obelisk Blue Dorm!"

Chumley nearly let go of the branch, not believing what he had just heard, "Why are you going there?!"

"To duel Zane!"

"_The _Zane?!" this time, Chumley did let go of the branch and he fell from his safe spot...right on top of Siho.

-----

His mind was set of entering the Blue dorm and taking on Zane, but as he was pushed to the ground, Jaden realized it wasn't going to be easy getting in.

Dusting himself off, Jaden glared at the two Obelisk boys that barred his way, "What's your problem?" he demanded.

The first Obelisk, a boy with spiky brown hair shook his head, "_I_ don't have a problem, but you're gonna have one soon if you don't beat it, Slifer Slacker,"

His friend, a boy with short black hair nodded, "Yeah, Zane wouldn't even waste his time with you. You're probably still wet behind the ears from Pre-Duel school!" he scoffed.

"Am not!"

Those words could've been seen as an omen, or just something coincidental because soon after, the first Obelisk boy emptied out a large bucket of water at him, soaking him from head to foot.

The Obelisks laughed at the sight and started to walk off, "_Now_, you are...,"

Jaden grit his teeth, these guys may not like Slifers coming by and they may think they're all high and mighty, but he wasn't going to give up that easy.

"We _will_ duel, Zane...we _will_ duel,"

-----

Later, Siho, Jaden, and Chumley made their way back to their dorm, Jaden drying off with a towel, still mad at what had happened at the Obelisk dorm.

"So...what are you going to do now?" Chumley asked.

Jaden shook the towel deep into his hair, "I'm not gonna give up, that's what I'm gonna do, Chumley. One way or another, I am gonna duel Zane,"

"You know, you _are_ good, Jaden, hands down, but do you really think you can take on the Kaiser?" Siho asked, as he started to open Jaden's door, "I mean...c'mon, Zane Truesdale, the best duelist in the Academy!"

The trio stepped in and before Jaden could reply, they noticed two things were off about the room. One: Syrus was still in bed, wrapped up in his blanket, and two: Christina was spinning around in one of the desk chairs.

Siho shook his head as Jaden walked over to the bunk, "Chrissy...what are you doing?" he asked quietly.

Christina stopped spinning and held her head, a goofy smile on her face, "Hold on...the room's spinning...,". Siho rolled his eyes as he waited for his friend to recover from the spinning.

"Ok...I'm fine," she closed her eyes and breathed, "I came to hang out with you guys so I wouldn't run into Kairi, but you guys weren't here, so I figured I'd wait,"

"Why didn't you wake up Syrus?" Jaden asked, nudging the bundle, "C'mon Syrus get up! This is ridiculous, even Chumley got up today!"

"Yeah, lousy bladder..," Chumley muttered under his breath.

Jaden pulled away the blankets only to see the bed was empty, "Hey...where is he?".

"I dunno, but he left you a note," Christina reached over and grabbed a piece of paper that Chumley was reaching for and cleared her throat, "Dear Jaden, I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try and stop me, it's for the best. I'd only be holding you back if I stayed,".

Jaden snatched the note and looked it over, then crumpled it up, "Oh no you're not Syrus...you're not going anywhere..,"

Chumley nodded, "Let's go stop him...after dinner," he offered.

"Yeah, I'm hungry...," Christina added, patting her stomach.

Jaden looked at them as he followed Siho out the door, "Not after dinner! Now!"

"Aw c'mon, tonight's grilled cheese!" Chumley whined.

"Yeah...Banner makes great sandwiches!" Christina threw in.

Jaden went back and grabbed the both of them by the blazers, "If we don't hurry up, it'll be Syrus' last day!".

-----

As Jaden and the others scoured the area, Syrus was already set to leave. Hidden in a small bay near the lighthouse, the Slifer boy had already made a raft of logs and he was ready to leave.

"So long Duel Academy...," he sniffed, wiping away a tear, "Hope the others do well...,"

-----

"Syrus! Come on, where are you!" Jaden yelled, stopping at the edge of a small cliff. A soft hooting sound made him look down at his deck and he saw that it was glowing. He was about to ask what was going on, when another hooting made him turn to the side. There, on his shoulder, Winged Kuriboh sat, "Oh it's you...,"

Chumley wheezed as he caught up with him, "So...hungry...hearing...voices...,"

Jaden watched as Kuriboh floated into the sky, "Can you find Syrus?" he asked. Kuriboh nodded, hooting again before taking off.

"C'mon guys!" Jaden looked back at the others, Siho and Christina catching up. Or rather, Siho carrying a whiney Christina.

"I'm...so...hungry...must...eat...something...,"

"Do you _have_ to talk like Captain Kirk from Star Trek?" Siho asked, irritated.

She nodded, "Yes...beam...me...up...a grilled...cheese sandwich...Mr Spock,".

-----

Zane stood at his usual spot on the lighthouse dock, looking at the sunset, thinking about some things again. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Jordan and Alexis come up to him.

"Don't you know if you look at the sun too long, you _will_ go blind?" Jordan cracked.

Not even replying to that joke, Zane turned back to the sunset as the Rhodes came to his side. He glanced at Alexis, "Any news or trace yet?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head, "I can't believe he's still gone. Jordan and I look everywhere for a new sign, but we always come up empty-handed,"

"Big brother...," Jordan whispered, "Where are you...,"

Zane folded his arms, "Don't worry about it you two. You'll find him, just don't give up,".

"Speaking of brothers...," Alexis looked at Zane, "I saw yours the other day,"

"Oh _did_ you now?"

"Yeah, he lost at a practice duel with Jaden Yuki," she recalled, "Your name came up too, Zane...but not in a good way,"

"The big, bad, brother, huh?" Zane didn't even blink at the news, "What does he want to scold me now?"

Alexis smiled a little bit, "Actually...he wants to duel you," she replied.

Before Zane could say anything else, Jordan pointed off to something off to the side, "Guys, look!". Both Alexis and Zane followed his finger and saw a small raft floating behind a couple of rocks, along with a large tuft of blue hair.

"It's Syrus!"

-----

"Stay back, Jaden!"

Siho watched as Syrus tried to push off in his raft, only to be stopped by Jaden jumping onto it, and in the process, making it split apart, sending the two of them into the water.

"Well that was a smart plan...," he said, smirking.

Syrus came to the surface, arms flailing, "Help me! I can't swim!!" he yelled.

"And you were about to set off into the ocean?!" Jaden cried as Syrus wrapped his arms around his neck, "That makes a lot of sense!".

The two of them disappeared beneath the waves, with Kuriboh watching from above as Chumley raced to help them.

"I'm coming, guys! Hold on!" he yelled before jumping into the water.

Christina looked on and giggled, "Funny...,"

"You saying that because of the lack of food in your belly or because it is funny?" Siho asked.

"A little of both,"

Chumley opened his eyes to see that he was halfway out of the water and halfway in. He felt the ground and blinked, "It's shallow...,"

As if they heard him, Jaden and Syrus rose from underneath the water, completely soaked and gasping for air.

Syrus rubbed his arms and glanced at his roommate, "Why did you come after me, Jaden?" he shivered, "I stink...,"

"Well I don't think you do anymore considering you just had an ocean water bath...,"

"Chrissy! No talky!"

"...anyway," Syrus looked away, "They'll assign you a new tag-team partner. Just let me go and you'll have a much better shot of winning the match without me,"

Jaden walked in front of him, "Sy, that's just your brother talking! You gotta believe in yourself!"

"You gotta believe _me_!" Syrus sobbed, tears leaking and mixing with the sea water, "I'm a lost cause...,"

"He _is_ right, you know...," a cold voice interjected.

All Slifer looked up to see Alexis, Jordan and Zane on a nearby path a short ways above them.

"_That's_ Zane?" Siho, Jaden and Christina asked at the same time, looking straight at the Kaiser of Duel Academy.

Zane ignored the trio and looked hard at Syrus, "You dropping out, little brother?"

Syrus nodded slightly, "Uh...yeah, kinda,"

"Hmph," Zane closed his eyes and turned away, "It's about time...,"

That remark made Syrus lower his head, feeling worse than he already did before. He turned and made his way to some logs floating nearby from his damaged raft.

Jaden watched Syrus and shook his head, "He's wrong, Syrus...,"

All he heard from Syrus was a loud sniffling sound.

Jaden growled and glared back at Zane, "You're his big brother, how can you say that?!" he demanded.

"Because I know him," Zane said simply.

"Yeah, I bet you know it all, huh?" Jaden waded out of the water, leaving a trail behind him, "But you're wrong and I'm gonna prove it right now. Let's duel, Zane!"

"Jaden...," Siho shook his head, "Dude...remember what I said, this is the Kaiser!"

Syrus turned to his friend, "Jaden...,"

Zane raised an eyebrow, "Duel a Slifer?" he thought aloud before smiling, "Sure...why not? It's been awhile since I went _slumming_,"

Jaden grinned, "Then get your game on!"

"He's good, Jaden, don't do it!" Syrus pleaded.

"I'm sure he is good, Syrus," Jaden replied, _I'm also sure that this will help Sy's confidence problem...without hurting mine._

-----

That night, after the sun had set, Jaden and Zane, as well as the rest of the gang walked to the main dock, Jaden and Zane carrying Duel Disks.

Siho looked at them both, "This is...gonna be a very interesting duel...,"

Jordan scoffed, "More like a slaughter...,"

Christina, however, was too busy munching on a bag of chips she had snagged a short while earlier, "Finally...no meltdown for me...,"

"You ready for this, Zane?" Jaden asked, inserting his deck.

"I'm ready for anything you throw at me, Yuki!" Zane shot back.

"DUEL!" they both shouted.

**Z: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Alright...now we see what's going on with Sy and his bro," Jaden smiled, barely containing his excitement, "Also how I rank up against the best!".

He drew his card, "Here I come, Zane! First, I'm gonna summon Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in Attack Mode!"

Christina leaned over as the birdman made his entrance, "You ever notice he usually starts off with that one monster?" she asked Siho.

"Shh...,"

"Now, I think I'm gonna throwdown a facedown while I'm at it," Jaden finished as he inserted a card into his slot.

Zane drew his card, "That's all huh? Fine. For my first move, I summon Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) in Attack Mode!"

The Slifers watched in amazement as a metal dragon rose from the ground and curled up behind it's master.

"No way!" Jaden exclaimed, "How were you able to summon a Level Five monster on your first turn?".

"I can play the Cyber Dragon _because _it's my first turn, Jaden," Zane explained, "With no monsters of my own on the field, it requires no sacrifice. Now I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card,"

Jaden turned away as his facedown was blown away by a miniature tornado, "Well that was fast...,"

"Not as fast as your Life Points will go down. Cyber Dragon, attack Avian with Strident Blast!" Zane commanded.

The metallic dragon rose and let out a stream of fire, engulfing Avian completely.

**Z: 4000  
J: 2900**

Syrus watched silently as his friend was already on the track of losing this duel _I tried to warn him that Zane was good..._

_Powerful monster...nice effect...oh yeah, I'm totally gonna duel this guy_ Christina munched on the remains of her snack.

"Next," Zane held up a card, "I'll activate the Spell Card, Different Dimension Capsule!" he declared as a strange looking sarcophagus with a clock emblazoned in the center appeared, "This allows me to take a card from my deck, place it into the capsule, and in two turns, add it to my hand,".

Jaden watched as the capsule opened up, letting the holo-card inside and closing before sinking beneath the ground. "Wow...," he wiped the end of his nose, "That's gotta be the best card of his entire deck. I can't wait to see what comes outta there!"

_I can_ Syrus thought miserably _'Cause it ain't gonna be pretty..._

"It's your move, Jaden...,"

_I know and I better make this move count_ Jaden thought as he looked at Zane and his metal dragon _Because I'm starting to see that he might be as good as everyone says he is...maybe even better...but not better than me!_

"Alright, Round Two!" Jaden drew his next card, "First, I'm gonna rock Polymerization, then I'm gonna roll both Elemental Heroes Sparkman (1600/1400) and Clayman (800/2000) and fuse them to create the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!".

The large, electrified armored Hero appeared on the field in all it's glory, letting out a might roar at the Cyber Dragon.

"Now, since his special ability destroys a monster with attack points lower than his own, your Cyber Dragon is vaporized!" Jaden explained as Thunder Giant struck the Cyber Dragon with a huge bolt of lightning, destroying it.

"Yes!" Jaden smiled as the dragon was blasted, "Looks like the big man on campus just got a little bit smaller, wouldn't you say?"

Chumley nodded, "Yeah, I'd say that!"

Christina waved her arms, "WOO! Dragon-slayer!"

Siho turned to Jordan, "Why do I get the feeling that Jaden got lucky there?" he asked quietly.

"Because that's all it was," Jordan replied, looking at the two duelists, "Nothing but luck...,"

"And the best part about that," Jaden smiled some more, "is that that blast was just Thunder Giant's special ability. He still has his own attack, which I'm gonna use on you!"

Thunder Giant gathered a large amount of energy in it's hands and fired it at Zane, hitting him dead on. However, Zane didn't even move. He just stood there calmly as his Life Points went down a good deal.

**Z: 1600  
J: 2900**

"You know you could at least flinch a _little_," Jaden muttered as he inserted a card into a slot, "Oh well...maybe this facedown card will get you later,".

_Yeah...if Jaden lasts long enough to use it_ Syrus thought, turning to his brother.

"Nice moves, kid," Zane said as he drew, "Now that my field is empty again, I can bring out another Cyber Dragon...,"

An identical metallic dragon appeared in front of Zane, a distorted growl coming from within.

"...or better yet, _two_!" Zane held up a card, "I play the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! With just one monster in my Graveyard, you can guess who I'm bringing back!" he said as his disk glowed and his first Cyber Dragon was revived, standing next to his second one.

"But neither would be here for long...," Zane took another card from his hand, "In present form anyway. Dragons, unite!" he commanded as both monster swirled together into a black void, "Cyber-Twin Dragon (2800/2100), emerge!"

From the dark void, a new monster appeared. This had the heads of both Dragons, but the body of one, each head with a different circle of color. One yellow, and one blue.

"Twin Dragon?!" Chumley stared at the new creature in awe, "One was tough enough already!"

"My Twin Dragon can attack _twice_ in a round, Jaden!" Zane pointed to the Thunder Giant, "Meaning double the trouble for your monster _and_ your Life Points! Twin Dragon, attack!" he commanded.

"Not so fast!" Jaden pushed a button, "I've got a Trap! A Hero Emerges! Now normally, you'd have to randomly select a card from my hand and if it was a monster, I'd get to summon it. But since it's the only card in my hand, I'll just bring him out! Wroughtweiler (800/1200), come on out in Defense Mode!"

A large, black metal dog appeared next to Thunder Giant in a defensive crouch.

"You'll need him, Jaden! Cyber Twin Dragon, Double Strident Blast!" Zane barked. His two headed monster roared and let out two seperate blasts, each one hitting the different monsters on Jaden's side of the field.

**Z: 1600  
J: 2500**

Jaden lifted his head, smiling, "Glad you did that! 'Cause when Wroughtweiler is destroyed, his special ability activates! It takes one Polymerization card and one Elemental Hero from my Graveyard and add them back to my hand. Just when you probably thought you can stop worrying about them, huh Zane?"

"I don't worry," Zane said evenly.

This made Jaden smile. "Aw man! You're chill...not even flinching or worrying...you _are_ good!"

Zane smiled slightly, "Thanks. You're good too, Jaden,"

_Huh?!_ Syrus blinked in surprise _Since when did Zane give props?_

"Now...where was I? Oh yeah!" Jaden drew his card, "I was about to summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in Attack Mode!" he slapped the card onto his disk and the cape-wearing Hero appeared, water hose at the ready, "and, since he's the only monster on my field, I'll use his special ability and draw two more cards from my deck,"

He drew his cards and immediately he heard the hoot of his friend. He looked at the cards, _Transcendant Wings and Winged Kuriboh! The same cards I used to trash that Dragon Catapulter! An evolved Winged Kuriboh would turn Zane's Cyber Twin Dragon into a pile of cyber junk, and it's attack points would be dealt to him as damage! That would be enough to knock his lifepoints to 0 and win the duel...but I can't summon anymore monsters this turn, so I'm just gonna have to wait til next turn._

"Alright, Zane," he looked up from his cards, "I play Polymerization to fuse my Elemental Hero Bubbleman with my Elemental Hero Clayman to create the Elemental Hero Mudball Man! Rise, Mudball Man, in Defense Mode!"

A new monster, one with a perfectly round main body, rounded arms and a blue head appeared on the field, kneeling, protecting Jaden.

Elemental Hero Mudball Man DEF (3000)

"Lishius!" Chumley smiled widely, "Mudball Man's got 3000 DEF points! That Twin Dragon will have a hard time getting past him!"

Christina clapped, "Go Jaden! Kick the Kaiser's butt!" she yelled.

_I don't believe it...Jaden might actually win!_ Syrus thought, stunned at the turn of the duel so far.

"Gimme your best shot, Zane!"

"My best? Alright, you got it," Zane drew his card and watched as the Capsule rose from the dirt, chunks rolling off it.

_Oh no..._ Syrus knew what this meant.

"It's been two turns since I first activated Different Dimension Capsule, and now I can take the card I put in it and add it to my hand," Zane placed the card in his hand and looked straight at Jaden, "You played well...but not well enough,"

"Hey, just gimme what you got, Zane, I'm ready for it!"

"...I'm sure you are, Jaden. A good duelist is ready for anything. Even knowing the difference of using a card and playing a card can make the difference in a duel," he glanced at Syrus briefly, then back at Jaden, bowing his head slightly, "and you play your cards well, Jaden,"

_That's a good compliment...but even better advice _Jaden thought _Just hope Syrus is listening right now_

And indeed Syrus _was_ listening to what his older brother had said. _Of course! That's what he meant by what he said all those years ago! Using and playing your cards are two different things...I understand it now! _he realized.

"First, I'll play this De-Fusion card and split up my Cyber Twin Dragon into two seperate Cyber Dragons," he paused as his monsters divided itself into it's original forms, "Next, I activate the magic of the Spell Card, Power-Bond!".

He inserted the card into his disk, "This card allows me to summon a Machine-Type Fusion monster, and with the final Cyber Dragon in my hand, I can fuse them together to create...the Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800) !!!"

Siho watched in amazement as through a torrent of blue flame, the winged dragon appeared, three heads sticking out of the same body.

_My God...it's like a Machine version of the Blue Eyes White Ultimate Dragon..._ he thought in awe.

"SUGOI!! SUGOI!! THAT'S SWEET!" Christina screamed, bouncing up and down.

Ignoring the shouts, Zane continued his turn, "Thanks to Power-Bonds ability, when I summon a Fusion Machine-Type monster, it's Attack Points are doubled!"

Cyber End Dragon (8000/2800)

"8000 points?!" Chumley gasped, "No way!"

"And keep in mind, Jaden, when Cyber Dragon attacks, the difference between his Attack Points and your monsters Defense Points are dealt to you as damage!"

Jaden's eyes widened and he made a lopsided grin, "Oh boy...,"

"Just hang in there, Jaden!" Chumley yelled, "If you can survive the attack, you can win this duel for sure thanks to his Spell Cards effect!"

Alexis nodded, "That's right. At the end of the turn Power-Bond is used, the one who used the card gets dealt damage equal to the attacking monsters original Attack Points!"

_Yeah...but that won't matter if you play it right_ Syrus thought, hearing his friends, _And Zane has! I just wish it wasn't at Jaden's expense..._

"Cyber End Dragon, attack Mudball Man! Super Strident Blaze!" Zane roared, waving his arm, "Finish this duel!"

Jaden watched as his Hero was obliterated right before the leftover damage came right at him, hitting him dead on. After the blow, he fell to his knees, head hung low.

**Z: 1600  
J: 0**

"Jaden!" Chumley yelled.

Alexis stared, "I can't believe it...he lost..,"

Jordan scoffed, "Didn't surprise me...," he turned to Siho, "Told ya he got lucky...,"

"No!" Syrus ran to his friend, "Jaden!"

Jaden lifted his head as Syrus came to him, and smiled at the older Truesdale, "Great duel, Zane...,"

Zane chuckled and turned away, then looked back, smiling slightly. Syrus' eyes met with his brothers and they just stood there as if sharing a mental, mutual understanding of what had just happened. Zane turned away again and walked away, Jordan and Alexis following after him.

"So...what do you think?" Alexis asked him, walking alongside him.

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, watcha think? He almost had you!"

Zane retained his usual calm face, "Doubt he had me...but I think Syrus has chosen some good friends," he said quietly.

"Wow...you're brothers got some mad skills," Jaden commented, watching Zane and the other two leave.

Syrus shrugged, "Maybe, but mom says I got the looks in the family,"

All the other Slifers stared at him, speechless, then began to laugh hard. Syrus laughed too, before stopping, "What's funny?".

Jaden shook his head, "Come on...let's go home and work on our decks. While we're at it, let's rearrange your deck so that you can use Power-Bond," he offered.

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, good idea. Now I know how to play it, not just use it,"

A loud rumbling sound made the two of them turn to see Siho, Christina and Chumley holding their stomaches.

"You know what _I _could use?" Chumley asked, rubbing his belly, "A couple of grilled cheese sandwiches..,"

"Same here...," Siho nodded, "I'm starving...,"

"I had that bag of chips and I'm still hungry!" Christina whined, "I blame my dad! I got my mom's looks and I got my dad's black hole of a gut!"

Jaden grinned as his and Syrus' stomaches gargled, "Not if I eat 'em all first, Chumley!" he laughed, dashing away.

Siho started to run, but was forced to stop as Christina hopped on his back for another piggyback, "Hey!"

"Giddyup!"

The Slifers ran down the path from the docks back to the Slifer Dorm, laughing as they ran.

"Seriously, why do we hafta run?" Chumley asked them as he tried to keep up with them, "Can't we just walk?"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: whew...ok first off. The Mudball Man thing...I only knew his Defense Points and couldn't find his attack at all, cuz apparently he's anime-only monster...so...yeah.**

**Well hope ya'll enjoyed this one, and I hope I did it well, ja ne!**


	19. Duel From A Land Down Under!

**Duel From A Land Down Under!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: ok, before I get started, I'd like to thank Phantom 1 for telling me Mudball Mans ATK points. I was unable to put that in the previous chapter, but since I have it, i'll make sure it's in future chapters. On with the fic!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Christina...,"

"..."

"Christina...,"

"..."

"_Christina..._,"

The brunette girl's eyes opened slightly, "Wha...?" she yawned. Daylight was pouring into the room from the window, making her wince at the brightness. She muttered something under her breath and pulled her covers over her head.

However, they were ripped away, making her curl up instinctively because of the change in warmth and comfort. She slowly sat up and looked at the one who had woken her up from such a peaceful slumber, filled with Duel Monsters.

Kairi Lumina smiled at her, "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" she greeted, "Good morning, Christina!".

"It _must_ be a good morning if you haven't tied me up and stashed me in the closet yet...,"

Kairi frowned and sat down beside her, "Aw come on. I already said I was sorry for that! Besides, it was a job I was doing with my dad, nothing personal!".

Yawning again, Christina climbed out of her bed and walked to the fridge, "Well you'll have to forgive me for now believing that Miss Psycho...usually getting kidnapped has that effect on me," she pulled a box from the fridge and looked inside, then turned to her roommate, looking more irritable, "You ate the last of my chicken?"

Kairi shrugged, "I didn't know it was yours...the box didn't have a name on it, I just thought you got it from the store for the both of us. I'm sorry,"

"Fine, whatever...I'll find some other food to munch on...maybe Banner made something good..,"

As Christina left the room, stomach growling, Kairi sighed, "Guess I'll have to keep working at it...,".

Christina walked along the Slifer Dorm and as she neared the stairs, she noticed Syrus, Jaden and other Slifers standing outside of Banner's room, voices coming from inside. She walked up to them, scratching her head, "What's going on?"

Syrus held up a finger, then pointed inside the room. Christina leaned over and saw that a huge, well built man with a round nose sat in front of Banner, a stern look on his face.

"Who's that?" she whispered.

"Chumley's dad...," Syrus whispered back.

"Wow...big guy. So what's he doing here?"

"Shh...just watch and see,"

Mr Huffington laughed, "I mean, don't get me wrong. If Chumley was any good at dueling, then it'd be a whole other story, but clearly he's not so he's just wasting his time and my money here! It's time for him to give up dueling and come back home!"

"I can see your point. Chumley is a bit," Banner let out a small chuckle.

"He's a bit _dense_! That's what I'm saying!" Mr Huffington snapped, "That's why I want him to come back home and join the family business...the hot sauce business! _You_ like hot sauce, don't ya, teach?"

Banner nodded quickly, "Oh yes, I love hot sauce! I cannot get enough of it," he said nervously.

"Glad to hear it!" Mr Huffington reached into his bag and brought out a large bottle wrapped in bright red paper, "Here ya go, free sample!"

Banner waved his hands, "Oh no...I-I couldn't!"

"Oh _yes_ you could!" Mr Huffington pressured, "Just think of it as a farewell gift from me and Chumley,".

Syrus turned to Jaden, "So Chumley's really gonna drop out?" he asked, worriedly.

Jaden frowned, "No way! Not if we have anything to say about it...,"

-----

"Chumley!"

Jaden and his two friends entered the dorm room to find Chumley on the floor, packing a large knapsack while Siho sat nearby, head on his hand. Siho glanced at the trio, "So you've heard too, huh?" he asked.

Christina nodded and walked up to Chumley, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Come on, Chumley! Don't go!" she pleaded.

"I have to. I have to leave Duel Academy...it's what my dad wants," he grunted, not turning to face them.

Jaden scowled, "Chumley, you do this and everything you've worked for will be for nothign! All your dueling dreams and goals will be wasted! Don't you care at all?!" he reached over and jerked him around, only to see small streams of tears rolling down Chumley's cheeks.

"...Chumley?"

Siho looked at Jaden, "He _does_ care, Jaden...,"

"No I don't...I just...got something in my eye. Both of them, ok?" Chumley murmured, wiping away his tears, "Besides, it's not like I'm worth wasting your time about...," he lifted his head, "or at least that's what my dad says. But he doesn't know that I could be a champion duelist if I wanted to be, because I have a special power that I haven't told anybody about yet!"

"Your ability to sleep for about twelve hours straight?" Siho asked.

"You can make a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches in three minutes flat?" Christina added.

"No!" Chumley snapped, "Sometimes, Duel Monsters talk to me,".

"...darn, thought it was the grilled cheese...," Christina shook her fist, "Curse my crappy predicting ability...,"

Jaden knelt down besides his roommate, "Didn't you tell your dad about this, Chumley?" he asked.

The older boy shook his head, "Of course not! He wouldn't listen to me anyway, everything with him is nothing but hot sauce, hot sauce and more hot sauce!" he sobbed.

"That's it, let's go," Jaden grabbed Chumley's collar and amazingly, was able to pull the larger boy to his feet and towards the door.

Siho stood up, "Great, so where we going now?"

-----

It turns out, that Jaden and the others were headed for Chancellor Shephards office, to tell him, Banner, and Chumley's father about why they wanted their friend to say at the Academy.

Christina looked around the room, _Always thought my first time in this office would be because I did something wrong..._

"...so you see, Chumley _can't_ go. He has a special gift!" Jaden finished his story to Shephard and Chumley's dad, "If he leaves, that gift will be wasted!"

Mr Huffington scoffed, "Yeah, right. The only gift my boy has is eating grilled cheese,"

"Look, I know Chumley, he's my roommate and my pal!"

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, same here...what Jaden said,"

Shephard sighed and closed his eyes, "Look boys, I respect you wanting to stick up for your friend, but this a personal matter...I'm sorry, but it's not your business...,"

"That's right! It's family business!" Mr Huffington laughed.

Jaden frowned, "But sir...,"

"...which is why I propose a duel!"

Chumley blinked, "Huh?!"

"Father versus son," his father explained, "If you have this special gift your friends say you have, you should beat me easy. If you win, you get to stay at the Academy, but if you lose, you're coming home with me!"

Christina looked at Chumley, who had this look about him. Something was going on in that large, round head of his and she knew what was he thinking. Chumley looked at his father and nodded, "It's a deal,"

-----

That night, in the room, Jaden and the others were sitting around Chumley, trying to sort out his deck for his upcoming match with his father in the morning.

Christina scanned through the deck and shook her head, "Man, Chumley, why do you have so many koala's? There are a lot of better monsters out there...why do you like them so much?"

"I just do, alright? They've been my favorite ever since I was little," Chumley replied, "I don't know why exactly, I just like 'em,"

Jaden rubbed his head, "Don't get us wrong, Chumley. Koala's are cool, but can you _win_ with them?" he asked.

"That's a good question...,"

All of them turned to see Kairi standing in the doorway, a long box in one hand. Christina's eye twitched and turned back to the boys, "Guys, this is my roommate, Kairi Lumina...," she muttered, waving to the blonde.

"Hey,"

"Yo,"

"Hiya,"

"Hello,"

Kairi nodded, "Hi...you guys have been up here for awhile so I thought I'd bring some drinks over," she held up the box, "You guys like soda?"

"I'll take one," Siho raised his hand. Kairi opened the box and tossed a can at him as Christina glared at him.

"What are you doing?" she hissed as he caught it, "Seriously?!"

He opened his can, "Having a drink,".

"Head's up!"

Christina turned, only to have a can of soda smack her in the face, knocking her to the floor.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry!" Kairi gasped, "I thought you would catch it!"

_I'm sure you did...psycho_ Christina thought, rubbing her face.

As the two girls carried on, Syrus reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, "Here you go, Chumley. It's a card I got awhile back but I've never used, so you can use it if you want,".

The older boy looked at the card, then up at him, "Wow...Syrus, you really mean it?".

Syrus nodded, "If you combine it with one of your Koalas, you'll have yourself a deck from down under!"

While Chumley was going through his deck with the help of his friends, his father was standing outside the dorm, listening to the noise in side. He stared at the room for the longest time before turning and heading back to Banner's room, where the two of them were having a hot sauce party.

"Hm...,"

-----

The next morning, Syrus, Jaden, Siho, Kairi and Christina sat on the sidelines of the Academy's dojo where Chumley was squaring off against his dad. Christina sat on the opposite side with Siho while Kairi was with Jaden and Syrus.

"Don't see why she's here...she doesn't even know Chumley," she mumbled.

"She's here because she probably wants to help out a fellow Slifer,"

"Why is she even here at the school? You _do _remember what she did?"

"Of course I do, but there's something that my mom always said to me whenever I got into a fight with someone,"

"Oh and what's that? When they're not looking, swipe their wallets?"

"No...forgive and forget. If Kairi is here and she sincerely wants to duel and not do what she did in the past, then she deserves a chance,"

Christina sighed and folded her arms as Banner walked into the dojo with Mr Huffington, "Fine...but the first sign of her going nuts, I'm using you as a human shield,"

"Gotcha self a deal, Chrissy,"

The two of them quieted down as the two duelists took their places, duel disks and decks at the ready.

Banner cleared his throat, "Now Chumley, Mr Huffington. Remember the rules of this duel...if Chumley wins this duel, he can stay at school. However, if he loses, he has to go back home,"

"That's right. Back home or my hot sauce won't chap your lips!" Mr Huffington snorted.

Banner nodded and turned to Chumley, "Are you sure you can handle this, Chumley? You think you can go and work for your father at his hot sauce company? Chapped lips...,"

Chumley nodded, "I'm ready...I can handle anything right now," he said quietly.

"Very well," Banner raised his arm, "Without further ado, let this duel begin, gentlemen!"

Both duel disks were turned on, and they drew their cards as their Life Point meters trilled to life.

**H: 4000  
C: 4000**

Christina looked at the two for a few moments and took a deep breath, "MORTAL KOMBAAAAAT!" she screamed, earning a wack upside the head from Siho and a light glare from Banner.

"Here I come!" Chumley drew his card and looked at it, "Totally lishius! I summon Des Koala (1100/1800) in Attack Mode!" he declared, watching a brown Koala with leaves in both it's mouth and pouch appeared on the field.

"In attack mode?!" Mr Huffington scoffed, "Don't you know that if you had brought him out in Defense Mode first, then flipped him to Attack Mode later, you could've used his ability and dealt me 400 points of damage for every card in my hand?"

Chumley's head lowered a litte, "Duh...of course I knew that. Well, at least _now_ I do,"

"You should've paid more attention to your studies! It's too late for that now," Mr Huffington drew his next card and smiled, "I summon Dizzy Tiger in Attack Mode!"

Everyone watched as a large humanoid tiger in sweats and a tank top appeared on the field, holding a bottle in one hand.

"A Dizzy Tiger...?" Chumley blinked a few times as the tiger wobbled around, "Looks like it's had too much to drink...,"

"Never underestimate what monsters can do, in any state!" Mr Huffington barked, "Dizzy Tiger, Hot Sauce Slash!" he ordered, "Destroy Des Koala!"

Dizzy Tiger: ATK 1800  
Des Koala: ATK 1100

Chumley watched as his Koala took the blow, then as the remaining attack force went through him, leaving a sharp smell in it's wake. He waved his hand around, "That's hot sauce alright...,"

**H: 4000  
C: 3300**

"Aw man...that must've hurt," Jaden commented.

Syrus nodded, "It may have stunk, but the attack sure didn't...,"

Mr Huffington laughed heartily, "At this rate, we'll be home by dinner...which will be hot sauce I might add!"

Chumley glared at his father, "I'll show ya what ya can do with that hot sauce of yours!"

"Calm down, Chumley, don't lose your cool!" Jaden warned him.

"It's nice that he's standing up to his dad though," Syrus commented, looking at Mr Huffington. The larger man looked at Syrus, who panicked and crawled behind Jaden like a scared kitten. Christina shook her head, "Wish I could solve my family's problems with dueling...,"

Siho grinned, "You mean duel your dad or mom to see if you're still grounded or not?"

"...shaddup,"

Chumley drew his next card and smiled, "Lishius, this might work," he placed the card into his hand and took out another card, "I activate the Spell Card, Koala March! With this, I can bring back a Koala monster from my Graveyard and place it on my field as long as it's Level Four or below,"

The other Slifers watched as Chumley's first monster returned to the field. Syrus leaned over, "He's got Des Koala again!"

Jaden nodded, "Let's just hope he knows how to use it right this time...," he added.

"Not it..._them_," Banner whispered, petting Pharaoh, "Koala March allows him to summon another monster from his hand, if it's the same one he brought back from the Graveyard...and if I know Chumley-,"

"I summon another Des Koala!" Chumley cried, slapping the card onto his disk.

Banner nodded as an identical Koala appeared, "Yep, I thought so,"

"I sacrifice both of them to summon Big Koala (2700/2000)!" Chumley sent his two Des Koala's to the Graveyard and watched as a giant blue Koala appeared in their place.

Siho turned to Christina, "Watcha think about that...," he stopped and noticed that Christina had this look in her eye and he had an idea of what it was.

"Kawaii...big...kawaii...,"

"Oh God, you wanna go hug that furball now don't you?"

She nodded in silence and he slapped himself in the face, "Aiya...,"

"Big Koala, attack Dizzy Tiger with Take Down from Down Under!"

Big Koala let out a loud growl, then charged at the Tiger, moving like a stampeding bull. It lifted the Dizzy Tiger high into the air, then threw it hard onto the ground, destroying it on contact.

**H: 3100  
C: 3300**

"Dizzy Tigers gone-zo!"

"Yeah! That's the way you do it, Chumley!" Jaden cheered.

"You wanna fight, huh? Alright," Mr Huffington drew his next card, "Let's fight. I call Dizzy Angel to the field!"

In Dizzy Tiger's spot, a man in a white suit with hat appeared, white feathery wings on his back and a red bottle in his hand. He exhaled loudly and stumbled around, as if he couldn't keep his balance.

Siho's hand snapped and covered Christina's mouth as soon as he heard her take a breath. He leaned over, "I swear to God, if you say that Angel looks like Michael Jackson before he got white, I will tape you to the wall...," he hissed.

Chumley looked at the angel, surprised that this creature also reeked of hot sauce. Then again, knowing his dad, he wasn't _too_ surprised. As he looked at Dizzy Angel, he could swear he heard something different...something that came from inside his own deck. He glanced at it, _Whoa...I think I'm starting to hear those voices again..._

"Now! I activate the Spell Card, Hot Sauce Bottle, as well as the Spell Card, Flipping the Table!" Mr Huffington inserted two cards into his disk.

As Angel stared at the hot sauce bottle, licking his lips, a huge table appeared underneath him and Big Koala. Mr Huffington groaned as he bent down, grabbed the table's edge, then flipped it high into the air, sending the bottle, Angel, and Big Koala spinning into the air.

Chumley barely dodged his Big Koala as it hit the floor, shattering to pieces.

Mr Huffington laughed heartily, "What a card! It destroys everything on my field, except for itself. Now, the same amount of cards on your field are destroyed, and since that meant only your Big Koala was destroyed, you're left defenseless!"

"That must be his special one-strike attack...the one Banner mentioned earlier,"

Jaden nodded slowly, "Not sure if I like it though. It totally resets the field, it's not fair at all!" he protested.

"That's just like you!" Chumley glared at his father, "You don't like something, so you trash it!"

Again, Mr Huffington laughed, "I didn't get to be such a hot sauce tycoon by being nice, son," he replied as his Dizzy monster in a suit came back on the field, swaying from side to side.

Chumley frowned, "Why is Angel back? Wasn't he destroyed thanks to Flipping the Table?"

"Hehe...wishful thinking, son," Mr Huffington smiled, "Dizzy Angel has a special ability. He can't be destroyed by the effect of Flipping the Table!"

"WHAT?!" Chumley stared at the tipsy angel as it moved around, looking for something, "Now this dude's gonna keep freaking me out...,"

Mr Huffington placed a card in his Graveyard slot, "It get worse. Whenever a Hot Sauce Bottle is destroyed and sent to my Graveyard, it's special effect activates. It deals you 500 points of damage!"

**H: 3100  
C: 2800**

Chumley coughed as a wisp surrounded him, attacking his senses, "Is that what stinks around here?"

"Either that or Chrissy's feet," Siho interjected.

"I'm not done yet! Dizzy Angel, attack with Hot Sauce Sizzler!"

Dizzy Angel ATK 1800

**H: 3100  
C: 1000**

"Chumley!" Jaden watched as his friend staggered backward, "Just hang on!"

_Don't worry son...it'll all be over soon _Mr Huffington thought, "Make your move why don't ya?"

Pharaoh stretched in his master's lap, earning him a free petting. Banner looked at Chumley, "But make sure you think it through, Chumley. Otherwise you'll be back home bottling hot sauce," he advised.

"No duh, I know!" Chumley drew his card.

_Hey...it's this card!_

-Flashback-

_Syrus reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, "Here you go, Chumley. It's a card I got awhile back but I've never used, so you can use it if you want,"._

_The older boy looked at the card, then up at him, "Wow...Syrus, you really mean it?"._

_Syrus nodded, "If you combine it with one of your Koalas, you'll have yourself a deck from down under!"_

-End Flashback-

_Well...I guess now is as good a time as any_ Chumley thought as he took another card from his hand.

"I play the Spell Card, Silent Doom! With this, I'm allowed to summon back a monster to my field from the Graveyard," he reached down just as his choice card popped out and placed it on to the field, "I choose Big Koala!"

Chumley stared his father down as his blue bombshell returned to the field, _You're not kicking me out without a fight..._ he pulled another card from his hand, "Next, I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization and with it, I'll combine Big Koala with the Des Kangaroo (1500/1700) in my hand..."

A green kangaroo in purple trunks and red boxing gloves appeared on the field and merged with the Big Koala. Soon, in place of both monsters, was a much larger koala, only green wearing the same clothes while a large scar ran down it's left eye.

"...to create the Master of Oz (4200/3700)!"

Mr Huffington chuckled lightly _As if I didn't see THAT coming..._

-Flashback-

_"Oh, hey, I got something for you too, Chumley," Jaden held out a card, "This could really come in handy. Besides, with 4200 Attack Points, it packs a pretty good wallop!"_

_Chumley looked at both the card and Jaden in disbelief, "You would really give me such a rare and powerful card?"_

_"Yeah. We're buddies and that's what buddies do for each other," Jaden wiped the edge of his nose, "Besides, you belong here with us!"_

_"Damn straight!" Siho nodded._

_Christina wrapped her arms around Chumley's neck, "Slifer Red needs another Mascot, anyway...so I dub thee, Koala Boy!"_

_-_End Flashback-

"Now, go! Oz, attack with Outback Attack!"

Mr Huffington snapped back to reality in time to see the giant boxing koala throw a hard right into Dizzy Angel, sending him into the wall before Angel blew up.

**H: 700  
C: 1000**

"What a shot!" Jaden exclaimed, "Way to go Chumley!"

Mr Huffington coughed as the smoke cleared, "I'm still here son...,"

"Oh yeah?" Chumley grinned confidently, "Bring it!"

Syrus groaned, "Man...he almost had him that time!"

"Chumley...you fought a good duel, but you lost," Mr Huffington said quietly.

His son frowned, "What are you talking about? Master of Oz has 4200 Attack Points!" he reminded him.

"It doesn't matter! With one flip of the table, he'll be gone!"

"That doesn't matter!" Chumley snapped, "You forget, Dad, I know it's weakness!"

Jaden stared at the two, "Flipping the Table has a weakness?"

Chumley nodded, "That's right! Once you use it, you can't summon up a monster to the field," he pointed at his father, "That means you'll be defenseless, Dad!"

Mr Huffington smiled, "Not bad, son. You accurately pointed out my cards weak point. I'm very impressed with you. But that won't matter, because with what I have planned, I don't care if I am defenseless!"

He inserted two cards into his disk, "I now play _two_ Hot Sauce Bottles!" he declared as two large bottles, identical to the first one appeared in front of Master of Oz.

Syrus held up his fingers, "Wait...if _one_ Hot Sauce Bottle deals 500 points of damage, then _two_ Bottles means...,"

"It'll be bad," Jaden finished.

"I activate the effect of Flipping the Table!" Mr Huffington bent down and tossed the table high into the air again, sending both bottles and Master of Oz flying. The three hit the floor, exploding into tiny pieces, the Bottles sending out another wisp of smoke towards Chumley.

Mr Huffington held up two fingers, "That's two Hot Sauce Bottles, so that means 1000 points of damage to you!"

**H: 700  
C: 0**

Syrus watched as his large friend choked on the fumes, "I can't believe he lost...,"

"Poor Chumley," Jaden shook his head.

Siho lowered his head, "Good to have known ya buddy,"

"Bye-Bye Koala Boy...," Christina sniffed.

-----

Siho and Christina waited outside for the other boys to come out. Jaden and Syrus tried again to keep him from going, but the two of them knew that Chumley had made a promise and he had to keep it.

"You know...I think I've tried their hot sauce," Christina looked up thoughtfully, "Either me or my dad...I can't remember...,"

Siho raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? Hmm...maybe I should try some,"

"Uh...hi,"

The two of them turned to see Kairi standing nearby, a weak smile on her face. Christina glared and turned away, "Hello...,".

Siho rolled his eyes and nodded, "Hi Kairi...what's up?"

Kairi twiddled her fingers, "Look...I know we met on bad terms, but I wanna make up for it. I only did what I had to for my dad. It was because of him that I never really had any real friends. He needed help in his work, so I helped out. But because of my other life as a Shadow Duelist, no one really got to know me well enough before running in fear of me. I just wanna start over and make some friends here...can you guys do that for me?" she asked quietly.

Christina glanced at Siho, who raised an eyebrow, the walked over and held out his hand, "I can, Kairi. Give Chrissy sometime and she'll warm up to ya. Besides, one of these days we'll duel again. I can help you with your deck if you want me to," he offered.

Kairi squealed and jumped Siho into a major hug, earning a much harsher glare from Christina.

"Hey guys...,"

The trio turned to see the other three Slifers come out, Chumley holding his knapsack, his face red.

"Well...guess this is it," Siho put his arms behind his head, "C'mon...we'll walk with you,"

All six Slifers walked down the path towards the meeting place where Banner and Mr Huffington were supposed to be waiting for them, only Banner and Pharaoh were there.

Chumley frowned, "Hey, Professor...where's my dad?"

"Oh...I'm sorry, but he had to go Chumley. Something went wrong with the milds," Banner reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, "But he left this for you,".

Chumley opened the envelope and took out the letter, "Dear son, there's more to school than just your studies, and while you may not have made great grades there...you have made some great friends. That's...reason enough...for you to stay...," Chumley crumpled the paper, tears beginning to leak from his eyes.

He took off running to the nearest cliff and saw that his father was riding away from the island in a small boat. He cupped his hands together, "DADDY!!" he yelled, his voice echoing off the rocks, "I won't let you down! I won't let any of you down! From here on out, I'm gonna make you proud of me! My family _and_ my friends!"

Chumley watched as his father shrank in the distance, hearing his fellow Slifers walk up behind him. While not all of them had a smile on their faces, they could all understand the bond that was formed between both father and son that day.

"YES! KOALA BOYS HERE TO STAY!"

"...we need to get you some therapy, Chrissy,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: well that's it. Sorry that neither Dizzy Angel or Dizzy Tiger had any Defense listed...i couldn't find them anywhere. Oh well...**

**Now, don't wander off to far, the much anticipated Tag-Team Duel of Jaden and Syrus is coming up next! Who will be their opponents? Read the next one to find out!**


	20. Tag Team Part One

**Tag Team Part One**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

A few days had passed and now it was finally the day for the Tag Team duel that Jaden and Syrus had been sentenced-, _agreed_ to. Everyone was pumped to see this duel, and in a good mood to reflect on it. However, there was _one_ person that was walking down the halls of the school, not really happy at all. Not because of the duel...but because of the people he saw in the halls.

_Just look at them!_ Crowler glared hard at the numerous red blazers in front of him, _Slifer slackers littering the campus like vermin! The hallowed halls of MY Duel Academy are for the Elite, not lame, ESPECIALLY Jaden Yuki!_

He stopped walking, his hatred boiling. "THAT SLIFER SLACKER HAS MADE A FOOL OF ME FOR LONG ENOUGH!" he screamed, his voice echoing down the halls, causing nearby Slifer students to duck into a nearby classroom.

Crowler chuckled as he heard the Slifers run away in fear of him, "Soon...he will pay dearly for it though. Soon, with what I have planned, _he_ will be the fool!" he cackled.

"Doctor Crowler!"

Hearing his name, he turned and saw his star pupil walking up to him. He smiled, "Ah, Chazz. What can I do for you?" he greeted.

"Put me in that tag team duel against Jaden and Syrus," Chazz said quickly.

"_You_?" Crowler asked slowly.

Chazz nodded, "That's right. This time I know I can beat him and him packing,"

Crowler shook his head, "I'm sorry, but you'll be sitting this duel out, Chazz,"

"Huh?!"

Crowler shook his finger, "Don't get me wrong, Chazz, your skills are admirable, but this time I won't be taking any chances. If Jaden loses this duel, he will be expelled from the Duel Academy straight away...which is why he'll be facing the greatest tag duelists in the world!"

Chazz watched as Crowler walked off, stunned as his chance was shot down by the head of Obelisk Blue. He frowned _Greatest Tag duelists in the world...?_

-----

"I don't believe this...how can you guys be so calm?"

"Yeah, I'm about to wet myself from excitement and the duel hasn't even started yet!"

"That's disgusting, Chrissy,"

Jaden looked up from his deck to Siho, Christina and Chumley, who were sitting on the bunk, "What's not to be calm about? It's just another day, another duel...same as always," he reasoned turning to Syrus, "Right Sy?"

"Duh, Jaden...," Chumley put his head on the rail of his bunk, "It's a _tag_ duel! If you lose this duel, you'll both be on the next bus outta here!"

Jaden grinned, "Hello, Chumley? We won't lose this duel...besides, we're on an island..._bus_?"

Christina nodded, "He's right...need a chopper,"

"Whatever. You both should give me your meal cards just in case...,"

"Yeah, about dibs on ya stuff, can I have your comic books?"

"Can I bunk in here with Chumley?"

Jaden stared at his friends, "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence...,"

Syrus looked away from the others and looked at the card in his hand. The Power-Bond card he had gotten as a gift from Zane a long time ago.

_Chumley may be right. The last time I dueled, I was just awful, just like my older brother always said I was. If we're going to win this, I'm just going to have to do better,_ Syrus thought as he switched around his cards, _I won't let anything get into my head, not even Zane. The last time I let him get to me, Jaden really let me have it..._

-Flashback-

_Jaden looked at him, looking somewhat angry, "C'mon Syrus, that's your big brother talking! You shouldn't let him get to you like that. You just gotta believe in yourself!"_

-End Flashback-

_That's it...I gotta believe in myself. Believe in myself, believe in myself..._

"I BELIEVE IN MYSELF, JADEN!"

Jaden turned away from the others to see Syrus leap from the floor, "Uh...that's great Syrus. Now c'mon, we gotta head on out,"

Siho rose from the bunk he was on while Christina rolled off hers, "We'll come with ya,".

"For support?"

"That and we wanna get some kickass seats," Christina said, standing up.

Chumley watched as his roommates walked towards the door, "Good luck you guys! I really want you to win the match,"

"More than you want the grilled cheese?" Jaden asked, looking at his friend, amazed.

The larger boy grinned, "I'd rather have you guys as friends, then have extra grilled cheeses...,"

Jaden smiled, "You know, I think I might just cry...,"

"See ya soon, Chumley!" Syrus waved at him, then headed out the door, followed by Jaden and the others.

_Yeah...I hope so_ Chumley thought gloomily, watching his friends leave.

-----

**"Attention! The Tag-Team Duel is about to begin! Remember, these are test conditions! This is a sudden expulsion test!"**

Bastion sat in one of the many seats of the arena, noticing most of the population of the school was filling the arena up and quick. He listened to the announcement and folded his arms, "A bit harsh I'd say...,"

"You got that right...,"

"Huh?" Bastion turned to see a girl with blone hair wearing a girl's Obelisk Blue dorm. Behind her was a boy a little younger looking than her, wearing a Ra blazer, his hair matching the girls.

She sat down next to the first Ra, "You're Bastion Misawa right? One of Jaden's friends?" she asked.

"I...suppose you could say that," he shifted in his seat, "You're Alexis Rhodes aren't you?"

Alexis nodded, "Yes, and I'm the reason the guys are in this mess. They were helping me at the abandoned dorm...," she explained. Jordan cracked his neck, "What bothers me is that I needed help, then Siho and Christina came, but they didn't get into trouble at all...,"

Bastion blinked, "I see...that _is_ strange. Jordan is it?"

The Ra nodded, "Yep,"

"Focus boys," Alexis turned to the platform, "This time the guys are gonna need some help. I heard that Crowler hired some professionals to duel them. Dueling legends that worked alongside the creator of Duel Monsters himself!"

**"Send in the accused: Syrus Truesdale and Jaden Yuki!"**

Chazz sat in an empty section of the audience, next to the entrance. He was still angry that he wasn't the one taking on the Slifer Slackers. He turned to see the two of them enter the arena and kicked the seat in front of him, making nearby Obelisks turn to look at him.

Even though they didn't see it, both Syrus and Jaden heard the kick. Jaden looked around and grinned, "The acoustics are great in here, Syrus! This is gonna be a blast,"

"Yeah...you think that they'll count the echo as your tag partner?" Syrus wondered.

Jaden reached over and ruffled Syrus' hair, "For the last time, _you're_ my partner!"

Syrus laughed and pulled away from him, "Wouldn't hurt to ask!"

As the two them headed to the platform, Chazz gripped the arms of his seat, his knuckles white, "You Slifer Slackers...it should be _me_ who's taking you out! But I guess as long as you get kicked out, it doesn't matter who does it...,"

Higher up in the stands, Zane Truesdale stood as still as a statue, looking on at his little brother while Vahn popped a few pieces of candy in his mouth.

"You're brother's gonna have a tough time out there," Vahn said between chews.

Zane didn't reply. He just stood there, looking hard at Syrus, _Well little brother, I guess it's time to prove whether or not you belong here or on the next plane out of here..._

After both Slifers finally arrived at the platform, Crowler turned to the audience, hand in the air, "Now, allow me to introduce you all to our guest tag team duelists!" he shouted so that everyone could hear.

Jaden and Syrus noticed a change of light above them and looked up to see two men doing hand flips on the platform, moving to the opposite side. They were identical twins, save the green and orange robes and the odd symbols on their heads.

"THE PARADOX BROTHERS!"

Both men stood back to back, hands in their sleeves, smirking at the two Slifers.

"Greetings and Salutations, you fools!" Para, the twin in the orange robes greeted.

"Hope you're ready to duel!" Dox, the one in green added.

Jaden looked at the two, "Uh...I've never heard of these guys,"

Syrus nodded, "Me either. Maybe this tag-duel won't be so bad after all...,"

"Perhaps," Crowler walked up behind them, a sly smile on his face, "After all, they haven't dueled in _ages_ and their last opponent was a child. I believe he went by the name of... Yugi something?"

Syrus snapped his head back to the Brothers, "The King of Games?!"

-----

Alexis shook her head, "I've studied these guys. They're some kind of dueling mercenaries, not to mentioning the best tag team duelists in the world! This is hardly fair!"

"I think that's what Crowler wanted all along," Bastion said with a nod, "By my calculations, Jaden's chance of coming out of this duel a winner is one in fifty,"

Jordan growled, "Lousy sonofa-,"

"Jordan!"

"Sorry, Lex...,"

Chazz chuckled darkly and looked off to the side, "Hey _Chump_-ley, looks like you'll have a lot more room in your dorm now. You're friends are toast!"

Chumley gulped, "This is so not lishius...,".

Siho and Christina sat beneath Chumley, watching the duelists on the platform.

"So these are the Brothers Paradox...," Siho leaned forward, "I've heard stories about these guys. They once worked with Maximillion Pegasus at Duelist Kingdom as Eliminators. The only ones to beat them had a tough time facing down a very powerful monster the Brothers had summoned,"

Christina looked at him worriedly, "You don't think they still have that...do you?"

"To be honest, Chrissy, I wouldn't be surprised in the least. All we can do is watch and cheer the guys on,"

-----

"Enough with the pleasantries...,"

"...now on with the duel!"

"We didn't come here to talk...,"

"...we came...,"

"To destroy you!" both Para and Dox said in unison, making both Jaden and Syrus very nervous about this.

Chancellor Shephard frowned and walked up to the platform, "Crowler! Don't you think this is a little too much for them?"

Crowler jumped at his voice and walked over to him, "Of course not, sir! They broke a big time rule, so they should face _big-time_ duelists! Besides...," he knelt down to his superiors eye level, "We can't send the Brothers back, they've come so far!"

"What's that matter? _You're_ paying their travel bills," Shephard looked past the horrified teacher and towards the students, "Jaden, I'll leave it up to you son...," he offered.

Jaden looked at the Brothers, then at the headmaster, a large grin on his face, "Aw, this isn't so bad. These two couldn't beat male pattern baldness, so there's no way they can beat us!"

Crowler rolled his eyes, "How _wonderfully_ clever...," he muttered, walking to the middle of the platform. He raised his hand once more, "Duelists, prepare to battle! The rules of this tag-team duel are really quite simple. No sharing a strategy, no sharing of advice, and no sharing of any card that is not yet in play. But you _may _use what's on your partner's field...understand?"

Para and Dox nodded, "Yes!"

Jaden and Syrus nodded as well, "Yeah!"

"THEN DUEL!" Crowler yelled, before running off the platform.

**PD: 8000  
JS: 8000**

"Get your games on!" Jaden drew his cards, then looked at his partner.

Syrus nodded, "Here goes...," he drew his first card, "I summon Gyroid (1000/1000) in attack mode!".

Para scoffed as the kiddy copter appeared on the field, "You must be joking! I'm amazed that thing even _has_ an Attack mode!" he drew his card, "This on the other hand...Jirai Gumo (2200/100)!"

Jaden stared as a huge brown spider-like creature appeared, "An overgrown bug...? That's nothing my deck can't squash!" he drew his card and smiled, "Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in Defense Mode!".

"The best defense you fool...," Dox drew his card, "...is a strong offense! Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650), Attack Mode!"

Syrus looked at the huge spider and the large purpled and blue monster wielding a large spear, _Alright...now if I know dueling like I think I know dueling...these guys will attack next!_

"I choose to play a Spell card from my hand," Dox declared, "Tribute Doll!"

Syrus blinked, "Huh?"

"To activate this card, I must sacrifice one monster from our side of the field. Good thing my brother is so generous with his!" Dox looked at his brother who nodded, "Farewell Jirai Gumo!"

The giant spider screeched as it was ensnared by a mass of dark threads before vaporizing into thin air.

"Now, I am allowed to summon a Level 7 monster this turn, and I choose Kazejin (2400/2200)!"

Jaden and Syrus raised their arms as a fierce wind began to blow around them and the Paradox Brothers. In the middle of the maelstrom, a creature of gold and green color, with a round body and arms coming out of the sides appeared.

-----

"He sacrificed his brother's own monster in order to summon a more powerful one...," Bastion mused, "Now _that's_ tag team dueling!"

Alexis glanced at him, "Ya mind not sounding quite so impressed with them?"

Siho's fist smacked the armrest, "Dammit...this is not gonna end well...,"

Christina patted his shoulder, "C'mon, it's just one monster...not so tough!"

_That's because you don't know what that thing can do, Chrissy!_ Siho snapped mentally as he continued to look head on at the duel.

-----

"Do you honestly think that you know anything about this game?" Para asked.

"You're losers, you're lame!" Dox added, smirking.

"If they think that this is starting to get grueling...,"

"...wait until I draw and give them a _true_ schooling!" Dox plucked another card from his hand, "I play Dark Designator! This powerful spell card allows me to call out any monster I can think of, and if it's in my brother's deck, it's added immediately to his hand! Now let me see here...," he closed his eyes and pretended to think, then pointed to Para, "Sanga of the Thunder!".

Para chuckled, "Well what do you know? It's right here," he took the card from his deck, "ready to tear them asunder!"

Jaden frowned, _You gotta be kidding me! Another Level 7 monster?_

"The duel just started...,"

"...and yet it is almost done...,"

Both Brothers pointed at their opponents, "For your demise has already begun!"

Syrus gulped, growing more nervous by the second. Jaden saw this and smiled, "Don't worry, Syrus. They're just saying that for an easy rhyme,"

He looked at the two men, _I just hope we don't make for an easy match. Ok, monster role call. I got my Burstinatrix chillin' in Defense Mode and Sy's got his...well his little helicopter thingy. Not bad, but not good since we're facing down some major powerhouse competition...including a Level 7 green thing I've never seen before!_

"What do you say, Jaden?" Syrus whimpered, "If we just quit right now, we'll have extra time to pack up all our stuff...so uh, shall we?"

Jaden shook his head, "The only thing _we_ packin' is some serious dueling punch! I'm telling you Sy, we'll beat these guys!"

Syrus couldn't help but smile at the peptalk, "You're right, Jay!" he looked at the field, _We ARE packing a dueling punch..._ he glanced off to the sidelines, towards Zane who hadn't moved an inch since he got there,_ Not only am I gonna show the Paradox Brothers, but I'm gonna show MY brother was well. I'm gonna do it right here, right now, on this turn!_

"All aboard!" Syrus drew his next card, "I summon Steamroid (1800/1800) in Attack Mode!"

Syrus' train monster appeared on the field, whistling loudly and happily, as if it were glad to be in the duel.

"Next, I'll use the Spell Card Polymerization, check it out! I'll be using my Steamroid and my Gryroid and fuse them together to create the ultimate engine that could...Steam Gyroid (2200/1800)!"

Both vehicles vanished and the strange mecha mutant stood in it's place, making Syrus smile at the sight, "Now _that's_ locomotion! You guys made a mistake in all that teamwork: when you sacrificed Jirai Gumo, you left your brother completely defenseless, ready and open for an attack!"

"Uh...Sy?"

"Now I'm coming in! Steam Gyroid, attack Para!"

"Wha-? An attack?!"

"Got that right!" Syrus laughed as his Steam Gyroid soared through the air directly at the orange-clad man.

Para glanced at Dox, "Would you mind, Brother?"

Dox nodded, "Of course, it would be a pleasure, Brother. Kazejin defend with Squall Barricade!"

Syrus watched as the large, green monster stepped in front of Para, using a strong air current to stop Steam Gyroid, "What...?"

"Our monster's special ability, do you like?" Dox asked, smiling.

"It reduces your monsters power to zero, without even a fight!" Para finished.

Syrus blinked, "So...I goofed?"

Crowler laughed quietly on the sidelines, "These two don't stand a chance of beating Para and Dox! These two stink worse than dirty socks!" he laughed again, "Now they got me doing it!"

Jaden turned to his partner, "Don't worry about it, Sy, no biggy,"

"Yeah right...," Syrus looked at him sadly.

"I mean it!" Jaden gave him a thumbs up, "Just keep going...,"

Syrus nodded, "Ok then...I'll place one card facedown and end my turn...,"

"At last a smart move! My draw!" Para drew his next card, "I play Monster Reborn to bring back the frightful Jirai Gumo!".

Once again, the giant spider appeared on the field, mandibles clicking rapidly.

"And I'll also activate another Spell Card, Tribute Doll!"

"Not again!" Syrus whined.

Para smirked, "Yes again! And again, I sacrifice Jirai Gumo in order to summon another Level 7 monster...Suijin (2500/2400)!"

Much like Kazejin, Suijin appeared on the field, it's blue round body nearly matching the body of Kazejin, besidse the color and the mouth it had on the bottom.

"And I am not done yet!" he turned to Dox, "Mind if I borrow a monster, Brother?"

"Please, that's why he's there!"

"I sacrifice Kaiser Sea Horse!"

Dox smiled as a dark aura encircled the third monster, "In case you did not know, when you wish to summon a Light Attribute monster, Kaiser Sea Horse's sacrifice counts as two instead of one!"

"Which means, I'm now allowed to summon, Sanga of the Thunder (2600/2200)!"

-----

Bastion leaned forward as a red and yellow creature, very similar to the first two appeared on the field, "I think I'll change those odds towards 500:1,"

"What are the odds of you being quiet?" Alexis muttered.

Siho shook his head, "Not good...this is not good at all!"

Christina looked at him, "It may be three monsters, Siho, but they can beat them!" she insisted.

"Not if the Brothers Paradox are about to do what I think they're about to do...,"

-----

"Three monsters on our side, what could be better?" Para asked.

"I know what, Brother," Dox replied, "When they come together!"

Para stood up straight, "Prepare yourselves! I sacrifice Suijin, Kazejin, and Sanga of the Thunder so that I can now summon the ultimate monster...Gate Guardian (3750/3400)!!!"

Syrus watched in horror as the three monsters connected and made a huge creature, Suijin on the bottom, Kazejin in the middle, and Sanga of the Thunder on top, "Gate Guardian...?!"

"He's enormous!" Jaden gasped.

"Wait until you see his attack," Para taunted, "Go, attack Steam Gyroid! Tidal Surge Attack!"

Gate Guardian launched a stream of water, surrounded by lightning bolts, hitting Steam Gyroid head on, blasting it to smithereens.

**PD: 8000  
JS: 6450**

-----

Bastion shook his head, "This isn't a duel...this is target practice for the Paradox Brothers, and Syrus is the bullseye!"

"He's just made a few bad moves," Alexis reminded him, "He can pull this around...,"

"Unless that's a miracle not even God can't do," Jordan cracked.

-----

"I know it hurts," Para said.

"But it's about to get worse!" Dox added.

"If it gets as bad as this rhyming, then we're in serious trouble...," Syrus said meekly.

On the sidelines, Crowler was having the time of his life. _These two are duelng perfectly! They know exactly what to do and they're doing it! Once they destroy the weakest link, the whole chain comes crashing down, and they've picked the weakest link of all...little Syrus_ he looked at the scared Slifer, _Poor little Syrus...he would be the weakest link on a plate of sausages!_

Syrus looked at his partner _I hope Jaden has something planned in that deck...or this is all over, as well our lives at the Academy!_

"Well the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Jaden turned to Syrus, "Come on, let's take this guy down!"

"I would like to see you try!" Para placed a card into a slot, "I end my turn with a facedown,"

"Then it's time for me to go to work," Jaden drew his card and looked at it. It was Polymerization. _Sweet!_ he looked at his hand _You're getting called out, big guy..._

"First, I summon Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000), and next I'll play Polymerization to fuse both Clayman and Burstinatrix to create...the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500)! He's bad!"

Everyone watched as the two Heroes merged and born from them, was a monster that was built like a square Clayman, with a large red shield in it's left hand and a big gun turret on the right hand.

"Yeah he's bad...," Syrus shook his head, "But not as bad as that Gate Guardian. He's only got 2500 Defense Points! Gate Guardian's Attack Points are 3750, Blaster's gonna get blasted!"

Jaden smiled, "Don't sweat it, Sy, that's what his special ability's for! See, when he's in Defense Mode, Rampart Blaster can attack an opponent directly!"

Para and Dox gasped, "Our Life Points!"

"Rampart Blaster, blast them with Rampart Barrage!"

The new Hero aimed it's gun cannon at the two brothers and unleashed a volley of rockets that split into two waves. One headed for Para, the other headed for Dox. Both Brothers covered their faces as the missles exploded underneath them.

"Sure it's only half the damage you _would_'_ve_ taken, but hey," Jaden shrugged, "It's a special ability, what are ya gonna do?"

**PD: 7000  
JS: 6450**

"Lucky move...," Dox growled.

"Way to go, Jaden!" Syrus cheered, "We're back in this!"

Jaden looked at him, "Sy, we were never _out _of it!"

Syrus smiled _He's right. We can win this!_

"My move now!" Dox drew his card, "I'm activating the Spell Card, Fairy Meteor Crush and I'm equipping it to the Gate Guardian! Now when the Guardian attacks a monster in Defense Mode, the difference between his Attack Points and your monsters Defense Points, are dealt to you as damage!"

"Not so fast!" Syrus shouted, "You forget, I have a facedown card out! I'm activating Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Spell Card!"

"Right into my trap!" Para cried as his own facedown revealed itself, "I play Judgement of Anubis! Foolish boy, this lets me stop your Spell card by sending one card to the Graveyard...your Typhoon is nothing more than just a gentle, summer breeze!"

Syrus groaned as his swirling vortex diminished into thin air currents, then dissipated into nothingness, "Aw man...,"

"But wait! That's not all it does!" Para continued, "Anubis also destroys one of your creatures...,"

"And it's attack points are dealt to you, pretty cool special feature!" Dox finished.

**PD: 7000  
JS: 4450**

Dox drew his card, "I know it seems we have your backs to the wall, but the wall is right in front of you! I play Defense Wall and as long as it's on the field, when you attack our side of the field, you can only attack him!"

Defense Wall DEF 2100

-----

"The Gate Guardian on offense and the Defense Wall on defense...almost flawless!"

Alexis glared at Bastion, "I get it already! Now are you going to be quiet, or should I move?"

"I got a roll of duct tape...," Jordan offered.

Siho watched the duel as Christina began to beat her feet to the floor and clap her hands in a familiar rythym.

"They will...they will...rock you!"

He rolled his eyes, "Oh God...Christina, now is _not_ the time for Queen!" he snapped.

-----

"It's your turn, what are you waiting for?" Dox demanded.

"To be honest...a miracle," Syrus murmured as he drew his card, "I, uh, summon Cycroid (800/1000) in Defense Mode!".

A bell chimed as a small bicycle appeared, one large eye right under the handlebars.

Para laughed as he drew, "You summon a bike?! Well it's in for a major flat...Gate Guardian,Tidal Surge attack!" he ordered.

Once again, the electrified stream of water burst from the Guardian and clashed with Cycroid, destroying it and sending it away to the Graveyard.

"Don't forget the effect of Fairy Meteor Crush I have him equipped for! The difference in my attack points and your defense points, you take as damage!"

Syrus screamed as his was blasted by a secondary attack, feeling the pain from the electricity that emanated from the stream of water.

**PD: 7000  
JS: 1700**

As the Life Points dropped, Syrus too, dropped to his knees, holding his arm.

"Your Points are falling," Para laughed.

"Your gameplay is apalling!" Dox added.

"There is nothing left to be done except give up and start bawling!" the twins finished.

Syrus looked at Jaden who had his head lowered, his bangs covering his eyes. He was breathing slowly, but he didn't make a move or even attempt to draw his next card.

**"Attention, Jaden Yuki. It is your turn, you must make a move or you WILL be disqualified!"**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Well that's the end of that one! Again, I couldn't find Defense Wall anywhere, so his Defense points are just there...sorry. hehehehee. ja ne!**


	21. Tag Team Part Two

**Tag Team Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time, on GX: Heroes, Jaden's and Syrus' tag team punishment duel had finally arrived and everyone in the academy came to see it. From friends, to enemies, to even annoying teachers who try to get them expelled._**

**_Their opponents turned out to be the Paradox Brothers, highly skilled Dueling mercenaries who once worked under Pegasus himself. The only one to be them was Yugi Motou, the King of Games!_**

**_The two Slifer friends watched as the Brothers Paradox sacrificed their monsters and summoned three powerful monsters: Kazejin, Suijin, and Sanga of the Thunder. If they didn't think those were enough, with them as Sacrifices, the Brothers were able to summon a more powerful monster...Gate Guardian! Will our Slifer buddies hold out and win against these guys, or will they lose and be expelled?!_**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Bastion looked at the field, "It's two monsters to none. It's a simple calculation to figure...they're both going to be knackered,"

"Dude, who says that anymore?" Jordan grinned, looking at Bastion, "You sound like a dork,"

Alexis tapped her cousin to be quiet, "Anyway, nice Bastion, now you're dogging them in words I can't even _understand_. I just hope that Jaden has some sort of strategy...,"

"Oh, it's not _him_ at all, I'm sure he's got something up his sleeve. It's Syrus I'm worried about...he's fallen into every trap and walked into every attack that the Paradox Brothers have played," Bastion shook his head slowly, "He's been horrible...,"

"You know, on second thought, I think I liked it better when I couldn't understand what you saying," she sighed.

"Oh...sorry,"

Chumley gripped the railing, _C'mon, let them win! _he pleaded, looking downward towards his roommates, _I'll give up grilled cheeses for a month! I can just fry them instead!_ he sighed, "Go team...,"

Chazz, on the other hand, was having a great time. He was trying hard to keep his laughter inside _Finally...those Slifer slackers are getting the beatdown they deserve! I can't wait til they lose and get kicked out of the academy...especially Jaden! That slime...thinking he'd be the next King of Games. That's stupid, that's **my** destiny!_

Siho slid into his chair, "Great...just frickin' great...,"

"Aw c'mon, don't give up, Siho! Jaden will help Syrus through this!" Christina said with a calm look on her face.

Her friend looked at her, "How the _hell_ do you figure that?"

"Jaden said he was gonna be the next King of Games right?"

"Right...so?"

"The first King of Games beat the Baldy Brothers, so I'm sure Jaden will too...,"

He stared at her, then turned to the duel, "Hope you're right,"

Meanwhile, Chancellor Shephard looked away from the duel to see Crowler laughing amongst himself. He cleared his throat, "Enjoying this duel a little _too_ much, Crowler?" he asked.

The Head of Obelisk Blue jumped and turned around, "Oh no! I'm just happy that the duel is nearly done," he said quickly, "After all, the students look so weary...I only hope that their suffering is almost through,"

"Oh?" Shephard looked past him, "They don't look like they're suffering to me, Crowler...in fact, it looks like Jaden's catching his second wind,"

"Huh?"

-----

Jaden lifted his head, a look of calm determination on his face. While Syrus may have been intimidated by the Brothers and the Gate Guardian, Jaden didn't look phased at all.

"Well well," Para said, "The Slifer Red, forges ahead, when a smart duelist...,"

"Would have fled," Dox finished.

Jaden grinned, "Man, I'm starting to wish the Academy made us Slifers orange, then we wouldn't have to put up with all these bad rhymes,"

A light cooing sound made Jaden turn to see his Winged Kuriboh floating beside him.

"Huh?" he turned and saw the Paradox Brothers were staring at him blankly, then turned to his see-through friend, "Yeah, I don't think they got it either!" he laughed.

"Forget about our rhyming!"

"Just focus on your card-playing...,"

"...for the partner you have...,"

"...to win, you'll have a hard time!"

Jaden looked at his partner, who was looking at him sadly, as if he _was_ going to let them lose. He grinned, "Don't listen to 'em, Sy,"

"But they're right!" his roommate protested.

"No they're not...," Jaden turned and pointed to the huge monster, "I know because _you'll_ be the one to take down that Gate Guardian!"

Syrus blinked, "Huh?!"

"So let's go!" Jaden drew, "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in Attack Mode," he paused as his electrical friend appeared, body crackling with power, "Next, I'll equip him Spark Blaster! Now, with each blast fired, he can change the Battle Mode of one of your monsters! We'll start with...," he pointed to the biggest one again, "Gate Guardian, take a knee!"

Sparkman raised his new gun and let loose a sparking blast orb with a loud bang. The bullet clashed with the Gate Guardian, making it kneel and cross it's arms across it's chest, sealing it in Defense Mode.

GG DEF (3750/3400)

-----

"Well _that_ was certainly an odd choice," Bastion mused, "Unless Jaden's got a plan, he's wasted his move,"

All Jordan and Alexis could do is watch in silence, trying their best to ignore the annoying Ra.

-----

"You must be a fool. When Gate Guardian is in Defense, he never tires! Your situation is just as dire..." Para said.

"...and though I hate to feed the fire," Dox continued, "The Defense Wall we played, you have yet to retire!"

Jaden sighed and inserted a card, "Great thanks...I'm just gonna throw this facedown and end my turn,"

"Fine then...," Dox drew his card, "I'll just place one card facedown. No more, no less...Brother," he turned to Para, "You do the rest,"

"Excellent decision, I think it's for the best," Para looked at Syrus, "Because on this next turn, I'll win us this contest!"

Syrus felt even worse at those words. He looked at Jaden, "You heard what he said, Jaden...there's no point in me even drawing. I should just give up, maybe at least they'll give _you_ another chance,"

"Syrus...listen to me!"

The blue haired Slifer looked at him again, "What?"

"One draw...that's all it takes to turn a duel around, Syrus! You remember the _last _time you had just one draw, right?"

-Flashback-

_"Ha! You'll never get out of this!" Jaden chuckled as he sat across from Syrus, playing him in a friendly duel on the floor of their dorm room._

_"Yeah...I give," Syrus smiled slightly, "Let's have a rematch. But first, lemme see what I would've drawn...," he reached over and pulled the top card from his deck, "WHOA! This changes everything!"_

_Jaden blinked, "Uh...yeah, well it's too late, you already said you gave up!" he said nervously._

-End Flashback-

"You see what I'm saying, Syrus? There's no such thing as a last draw...because with the right card, you can always get another draw!"

"But...," Syrus started.

Jaden shook his head, "No 'buts' about it! Make your move, Sy...," he grinned, "It's all up to you and I know you can do it!"

_I know Jaden..._ Syrus gulped _That's what I'm afraid of!_

He looked at the two creatures in front of him, _Jaden said my one draw can keep us from losing this duel. But the only way we won't lose is if we beat that Gate Guardian and-_ he stopped and looked down at his deck _...of course!_

-Flashback-

_Syrus sat on the floor, going through the dueling paces and drew his next card while Jaden was nearby, looking at his hand. As Syrus added the card to his hand, Jaden leaned forward._

_"Wow...sweet card!"_

_"Huh?"_

_Jaden pointed to the card, "With the right combo, we can beat anything...," he looked at his friend smiling, "So can I have it?"_

_"No way!"_

_"Oh c'mon!"_

_"You always do this!"_

_"I do not!"_

_"Remember my Cherubin?"_

_Jaden clasped his hands together, "PLEEEEEASE?"_

-End Flashback-

_That's it...that one card is the only chance we have...let's just hope I get it. Because if I don't, it'll get us kicked out of here. All our hopes...all our dreams of being the best, everything we've worked for...gone out the window!_

Syrus shook his head, "Alright...here goes!" he drew his card, and looked at it, then turned to his partner, "Jaden!"

"You got it, Sy?"

"Yeah!"

"Then show 'em the drill!"

Syrus nodded and turned to the Brothers, "Alright, I summon Drilloid (1600/1600) in attack mode!" he declared, slapping a card onto his disk.

A loud whirring sound was heard as the ground at his feet looked as though it were being torn apart from below. A large drill head appeared and out of the hole, popped a monster that had the drill head for a nose, and a bulldozer's body.

"And guess what? When Drilloid attacks a monster in Defense Mode, it's automatically destroyed!"

Both Para's and Dox's eyes widened while Jaden pumped his arm.

"Go for it, Sy!"

"Open wide!" Syrus pointed to Gate Guardian, "Drill a big one, Drilloid!"

The Drilloid revved it's engine, then sped forward towards the Gate Guardian. Just as it was getting close to it, the Defense Wall stepped in it's path, taking the drill at full force. The drill pressed through, making the wall crumble into hundreds of pieces.

**PD: 7000  
JS: 1200**

-----

Chazz cackled, "Guess those two forgot that Defense Wall takes any attack that comes at the other monsters...,"

"You still think they can do this?" Siho looked at Christina, who was twiddling a card between her fingers.

"Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?"

Siho rolled his eyes, "Right, thanks Magneto, that really helps me put my mind at ease," he said sarcastically.

-----

"A nice try...," Para commented.

"But not nice enough," Dox added.

"Gate Guardian still stands...,"

"...despite your best stuff!"

Jaden grinned, "But that wasn't his best stuff...right, Sy?" he glanced at his friend.

Syrus nodded, "Now that your Defense Wall is rubble, you're in for it now! Well a certain monster will anyway," he inserted a card into his disk, "I activate the Spell Card, Shield Crush! Like it's name says, it can instantly destroy a monster that's hiding in Defense Mode! Just like...that Gate Guardian of yours!"

A burst of green energy and exploded from the Magic Card and enveloped the Gate Guardian, and moments later, it was completely gone.

"Gate Guardian is cooked!" Para exclaimed.

"I can hardly look!" Dox cried.

Jaden's grin grew, "Way to go, Sy. The bigger they brawl, the harder they fall!"

-----

Throughout the arena, students cheered and clapped for the two students as they managed to take down a powerful monster like Gate Guardian.

"Yeah!" Chumley clapped his hands together hard, "Fried cheese, here I come!"

Christina looked at Siho, grinning, "Nya...,"

"Aw shut up...they had some luck!"

"But Guardian's beat, so who gives a f-,"

Siho clamped his hand over her mouth, "Finish that thought and you'll get us both in trouble...,"

"Did you see that? Tell me you saw that! Did you?!"

Alexis glared at Bastion, "Yes I saw it! I'm sitting right next to you, watching my friends duel aren't I? The thing that surprises me most, is not just them taking down that Gate Guardian, but the teamwork they used to do it! _That_ is what it's gonna take to win this,"

Bastion nodded, "Yes...let's hope they keep it up,"

"Not a very big optimist are ya, Misawa?" Jordan asked.

-----

"Ok...now I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Syrus said, inserting a card in his disk, then looked at Jaden, "Thanks for the pep-talk,"

"Hey, thanks for the great move! Told ya you'd be the one to take him down!" Jaden said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Mind if we join in on all the praise, you two?" Para asked, interrupting the moment.

"Because, for destroying that monster, we should really...," Dox grinned.

"Thank you!" they both finished.

Syrus stared at the two, "W-what?"

Para smiled, "They say what doesn't destroy you makes you stronger...," he drew his next card, "That's true, we haven't been destroyed and we are about to be more powerful than ever!" he held up the card he just drew, "Thanks to this, Dark Element! This Spell Card is activated whenever Gate Guardian is in the Graveyard...,"

**PD: 3500  
JS: 1200**

"...now by paying half of our Life Points..," Para continued as both he and Dox's duel disks seemed to pour out a dark mist, "We can summon a monster that can't be beaten in battle...Dark Guardian!"

A dark, swirling vortex ripped open in the platforms floor, a furious wind blowing around it as a huge monster rose from inside the dark hole. It was much taller than Gate Guardian, had the body of a mechanized centaur, it's top half sort of looking like Vorse Raider, and it carried a huge axe in it's hand.

Dark Guardian ATK (3800)

-----

Bastion's jaw dropped at the sight of the monster, along with Jordan and Alexis, "Invincible in battle and with _those_ Attack Points?!"

"Oh...crap...Lex, lover-boys in trouble...,"

_WHAP!_

"OW!" Jordan rubbed his head while Alexis folded her arms.

"Ok, now how the _hell_ are they gonna beat _that_?!" Siho snapped, pointing to the new Guardian, "How?"

"I dunno...but they will,"

"..."

"What?"

"...I'm never gonna understand you,"

"Of course not, you're a boy,"

-----

"Dark Guardian, attack Drilloid with Axe Slash Bash!" Para ordered.

The huge creature roared and raised it's mighty blade high into the air, then brought it down, unleashing a wall of fire towards Drilloid.

"Farewell, fools!"

"Not so fast!" Jaden pushed a button, "I activate my facedown trap, Hero Barrier!"

"What?!"

Jaden grinned, "Sorry fellas, but this trap lets me stop the attack of one monster as long as one Elemental Hero is on my field, and Sparkman's standing tall right here!"

The burst stream of blazing power was met with a blue aura-like shield and dispersed shortly after contact, saving Drilloid, and the duel, from certain end.

"An impressive Trap Card...," Para nodded.

"...I never thought they'd be so hard...," Dox agreed.

"I know, we bombard and we bombard. Oh well, at least our precious Dark Guardian...,"

"...has kept up his guard!"

"Quite right, Brother! He won't be blasted to shards...,"

"...he'll finish them off next turn...,"

"...and the duel shall be ours!" they both laughed.

Syrus fell to his knees, _Just when I step up my game, they step up theirs...we're not gonna win this..._

"Chin up, Sy, this match isn't over yet,"

Hearing Jaden, he turned to him, "But Jay...,"

"But _nothing_," Jaden interrupted, "Stand up right now," he looked at his deck, then at the Dark Guardian _Cause you'll wanna see what I'm about to pull off..._

Syrus stayed in his place for a few moments before rising to his feet.

"It seems the boy still wants to proceed," Para observed.

"Really? For mercy, I thought he would plead," Dox chuckled.

"No, he would need smarts to concede!"

"Can it you two! It's my turn," Jaden drew and looked at his next card, "I play the Spell Card, Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two more cards from my deck," he drew his new cards, then inserted one into a tray that opened up on the end of his disk, "Now I'll play Fusion Gate! With this card, I don't _need_ Polymerization. I can summon all the Fusion monsters I want,"

He held up two cards as a dark cloud loomed over him, "So I'll fuse the Elemental Hero Avian, Elemental Hero Bubbleman...," he looked at his monster on the field, "and how about we toss Sparkman into the mix? All of them to create...wait for it...," Jaden looked up to see his three Heroes began to glow brightly.

The three of them merged together and from it, a new monster was born. It had Avian's wings, Sparkman's visor and some of his body, while Bubbleman's bubble cannon was on it's right hand.

"Yeah! There he is!" Jaden cried at the sight, "The Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800)!!"

-----

Bastion stared, "A fine creature, but still no match against the Dark Guardian!"

"Bastion, just who's side are you on?!" Alexis snapped.

Jordan nodded, "He's right though...,"

His cousin stared at him, "What? How can you say that!"

"What?" Jordan looked at her, "Tempest looks cool!"

-----

"An impressive move, but it is useless boy!" Para scolded.

"Have you forgotten about Dark Guardian?" Dox pondered, "He's still deployed, and in battle, he can't be destroyed!"

"That beast in null and void,"

Jaden glared, "Void _this_!" he held up a card, "Skyscraper!!"

The scenery changed into a huge perimeter of very tall buildings rising up out of the ground, surrounding the four duelists.

"Didn't you ever hear not to play in a construction zone?" Jaden asked, "Well it's true, because of Skyscraper, my Elemental Hero Tempest gains a 1000 point boost in Attack because it's weaker than your Dark Guardian!"

E-Hero Tempest (3800/2800)

"What the?!" Para and Dox cried out.

"Tempest, attack with Powerhouse Plummet!" Jaden ordered.

Para smirked as the newest Hero rammed its fist into the Dark Guardian's chest, energy flowing around them due to the backlashing wind the impact caused.

"Didn't I warn you? In battle, he cannot be beat! Your Elemental Hero Tempest has been wasted, so just accept...,"

"...your defeat!"

"Syrus!" Jaden turned, his hair being blown into his face, "Can you spare a card?" he yelled over the wind.

"Sure! Take it!" his partner yelled back.

Jaden turned back, "I activate Tempest's special ability! As long as I banish one of our cards to the Graveyard, Tempest isn't destroyed!"

All four players watched as the wind died down, both monsters remaining on the field.

-----

"Haha...you just wasted it, Slacker...," Chazz cackled, rubbing his hands together, "Such an idiot,"

"I don't get it...Lex, what did he just do?" Jordan looked at his cousin who just shook her head.

Zane smiled slightly, "Impressive," he looked at his little brother, "Let's see if Syrus knows what to do next...,"

-----

"Jaden...," Syrus looked at him.

"It's ok, Syrus. All you hafta do is play the right card, come your turn!" Jaden assured.

"If he even has a next turn!" Dox snapped, drawing his next card, "I play the Trap Card, One on One Fight! Though I'm sure you'd prefer to run and hide, this card makes our strongest monsters to do battle," he pointed to the floating Hero, "So I hope your Elemental Hero Tempest is ready for a rematch!"

"But why?!" Syrus asked as Dark Guardian swiped his huge axe again, "It'll just be another tie again!"

Dox smirked, "I have my reasons...,"

-----

"Sneaky reasons too..," Alexis shifted in her seat, "For Tempest to stay on the field, the guys will have to keep sacrificing more and more cards!"

"And whatever edge they give him...," Bastion agreed.

Siho began to rise, "Well..I saw that coming...,"

"Sit your dark and creepy butt back down, mister!" Christina reached up and pulled Siho back into his chair, "Jaden will pull through this!"

"How the hell do you know?!"

"Because I have faith in him and his deck!"

-----

"Crap, I guess I have no choice," Jaden grimaced, "I'll have to get rid of Skyscraper...," he muttered, taking out the card, causing the huge buildings around them to disappear, and Tempest's strength go down.

E-Hero Tempest (2800/2800)

"You may have saved your monster," Dox made a wild grin as the attack went through and struck Jaden, "But not your Life Points!"

**PD: 3500  
JS: 200**

"That's all for me...," Dox looked at his brother.

"...and next turn, I give you my guarantee...,"

"...this duel will be ours, just wait and see!"

Jaden turned, "Alright, Syrus...this is it. Remember what I said!"

_Right...that this would all work out if I played the right card. Wait a minute..._ Syrus' eyes widened slightly

"Got it, Sy?" Jaden asked, smiling.

Syrus nodded and looked at his deck_, Play...that's what my brother was saying. About the difference between using a card, and playing a card...but do I know the difference?_ he looked up at the stands and saw that Zane was still watching him while another Obelisk was munching on something.

Then, something happened. Everything disappeared. He was alone with Zane, wearing a blue middle school uniform while Zane still wore his Obelisk Blazer. Zane had his back to him while Syrus' head was lowered.

"Hey Zane, what's the difference between using a card and playing it?" he asked, looking up at his older brother, "Aren't they the same thing?"

Zane turned his head slightly to him, "That is something that can _never_ be taught...only learned. It takes a moment of pure clarity, when you're dueling on a whole new level. A _higher_ level, all the angles, all the moves. You won't think, just act...,"

Syrus snapped back to reailty and saw that he was back on the platform, still dueling. He placed his hand on his deck, ready to draw _Ok...no more thinking. It's time for me to act!_

"Here we go!" he snatched the top card out and looked at it, "Yes!".

"Sy?" Jaden blinked.

"First, I sacrifice Drilloid to summon UFOroid (1200/1200) in Attack Mode!" as Syrus placed his first card into the Graveyard, a small saucer appeared floating around him, looking as though it were ready to invade, "Also, I activate the Spell Card, Power-Bond!"

Jaden nodded, "Nice goin' buddy!"

"And I know just what two monsters to fuse...Jaden, may I borrow him?" he asked, smiling from ear to ear.

"Go for it!"

"Then I merge UFOroid and Tempest to create UFOroid Fighter (?/?)!" Syrus looked up to see the saucer and the Hero merged together. Now, the Hero stood ontop of the UFOroid, looking like a space-age warrior, "Also, his Attack and Defense points are equal to the combined ATK strength of both monsters!"

UFOroid Fighter (4000/4000)

"It matters not, so cease your prattle!" Para barked.

"You know Dark Guardian cannot be destroyed in battle!" Dox added.

Syrus wiped the end of his nose, "Yeah...but that doesn't matter! Power-bond has a special effect that doubles my monsters Attack Points!"

UFOroid Fighter (8000/4000)

"8000?!" both brothers shouted, stunned.

Syrus' smile stayed on his face, "Sure Dark Guardian can't be destroyed, but that doesn't mean your Life Points are safe! UFOroid Fighter, attack with Cosmic Flux Blast!" he ordered.

UFOroid fighter lifted its arm cannon and shot a huge, powerful stream of blue energy that smacked Dark Guardian directly in the chest, only to pass through and hit the Paradox Brothers hard.

**PD: 0  
JS: 200**

-----

"Way to go!" Chumley yelled at the top of his lungs.

"BOOYA! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU THEY'D WIN! IN YOUR FACE, SIHO!" Christina leapt up and danced in front of her best friend, "Don't doubt my instinct!"

Bastion shook his head, smiling, "Those two impress me more everyday...,"

"I'm just glad Jaden gets to stay here," Alexis said with a smile.

"You mean...Syrus _and_ Jaden?" Bastion looked at her curiously.

"Uh...," she turned away, "Yes...I meant both of them, of course,"

Jordan eased into her view, a sly look on his face, "Your boyfriend won, Lexi!"

_WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!_

Bastion eased himself away, looking at Jordan's unmoving form on the floor between seats, Alexis standing over him, fists curled tightly.

"Jordan Walter Rhodes, don't you _ever_ say that again! Hear me!?"

Jordan's fingers twitched, while Bastion cleared his throat.

"I think you killed him, Alexis...,"

While the Rhodes were having their brawl, Crowler was wading in his own sea of both surprise and horror.

"It can't be!" he fell onto his backside, "How can this be?!"

Banner walked over to him and knelt down, "How? Because of your superior teaching skills of course...oh wait, they're in _my_ dorm!"

Pharaoh leaned outward and licked Crowler on the face, making the Head of Obelisk panic instantly.

"That furball just licked me! Does he have rabies?! I want to see his papers! CALL THE POUND!"

Jaden shook his head at the screams and looked at Syrus, "Come on, Sy. Let it out. I know you cry when you're happy,"

"No way! Not the new Syrus...," the Slifer said before turning around and breaking into tears. Jaden laughed, "Some things never change,"

Chancellor Shephard smiled, "Just like your enrollment here at the Academy, boys! That was an excellent duel," he praised.

Jaden nodded and turned to the Paradox Brothers, "As for you two, it was an honor. If you ever wanna rematch, just give a holler," he offered.

"Well said, Jaden...I'm sure it'll sound just as good on paper too,"

"W-wha?!" Jaden lost his balance.

"That's right," Shephard nodded, "I want a five-page report on what you learned while dueling the Brothers...and how trespassing in the Abandoned Dorm is wrong,"

Jaden groaned and his head slipped downward, "Talk about a bummer...,"

"Well then, how about ten pages, and single-spaced too,"

Banner smiled as the Chancellor walked away, "Don't worry, sir, I'll make sure they get it done,"

As Jaden began to have a nervous breakdown, Syrus turned back to see his brother still in his place. He sighed _I wanna know if I've impressed you, Zane. I want to tell you that I now know the difference between playing and using a card. But I know that I still have a lot to learn and a lot to live up to..._

Jaden walked off the platform, still grumbling about his workload, "...I've never even read ten pages, that's like a whole book! I don't even know how to spell Paradox Brothers, and do their parts have to rhyme...aw man...this is gonna take forever!!"

"It doesn't matter, 'cause you're here to stay!"

"Kickass duel, you guys!"

"We are the champions...my friends..,"

Jaden stopped his mumbling as his Slifer friends came up and either patted him or hugged him in congratulations. Everyone except Christina, who was busy singing We Are the Champions. Siho was going to tell her to be quiet, but decided to let her off this time.

_Hehehehe..maybe this is the time for a Queen song_ he thought as his friends listened to the applause from all around them.

Alexis, Bastion, and even the greatly bruised and sore Jordan were clapping along with the rest of the arena's denizens.

Jaden smiled and gave them all his two finger salute, "That's game!!"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: oy vey...**

**Yami K: hey guys, YK here. As you can see, my friend Kilnorc here has just finished the tag team chapters and he's trying to get his head together. Apparently all that rhyming got to his brain somehow...**

**Kilnorc: The lass has grass all over her ass...**

**Yami K: ...yeah, let's pretend we didn't hear that and wait for the next chapter huh? Later ya'll!**


	22. Nerd vs Jerk

**Nerd vs Jerk**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Eh...that'll be about right for now," Christina placed her deck on her belt after making some changes to it, "Gotta love parents who send ya new cards every few days,"

"That's nice...,"

"Yeah I know it is, Kairi," she stood up and tied her hair into a ponytail before slipping on her blazer, "Well...class starts in a bit, don't wanna be late,"

Kairi nodded, "About last night, I'm sorry,"

Christina walked past her and opened the door, then looked back, "Sorry about what?"

"You know...,"

"No, I don't know,"

"..."

"C'mon, spit it out, I don't wanna get in trouble with Crowler!"

Kairi sighed and looked at the ceiling, "I'm _sorry_ for using your CD player...I didn't think you'd mind,"

Christina frowned, "I didn't mind. I let you use my bar for some exercise didn't I?"

"Yeah, but-,"

"Cool, gotta go!" Christina waved and shut the door behind her.

Kairi growled slightly and looked up. She _was _given permission to use her roommates exercise bar, but what she didn't know was that Christina had covered it with super-glue a few moments before. So now, she was hanging on the bar at least half a foot off the ground.

"...if it's a prank war you want, Berg, I'll _give _you a prank war," she muttered using her feet to push off against the wall, hoping that would give her some leverage but it didn't work, "...just as soon as I get down,"

-----

Siho was leafing through his deck for Crowler's class when he saw Christina entered the classroom, a large smile on her face. She sat down next to him, sighing happily.

"You look happy...have a good night?"

"Yep,"

"New cards?"

"O'course,"

Siho looked around for a few moments, "Kairi not feeling good? I don't see her anywhere," he observed. Christina shrugged, "I'm not sure. She said she felt a bit sick so she'd _hang_ around the dorm until she felt better,"

Her friend knew that she had done something by the way she said that sentence, but before he could ask her what happened, a loud shout from the Obelisks area. They turned around to see Chazz standing up, not looking to pleased about something.

"What's the matter, Chazz?" Siho asked, smiling a little, "Bug up your butt escape you finally?"

"SHUT UP, SLIFER SLACKER!" Chazz screamed at him before turning to Crowler who was walking around in the front of the room, "Doctor Crowler, tell them that this all a mistake, tell them I belong up here!"

_Huh...must've heard about his seat change_ Siho thought.

Crowler turned to him and Christina noticed that he had a large black eye on the left side of his face, "But you don't, Chazz and you haven't since you lost a duel to...oh who was that? Oh yes, Jaden Yuki...a SLIFER!" he screamed the last part out.

"Slifers own Obelisks...," Christina whispered, earning a grin from Siho.

"So which is why you'll duel Bastion Misawa tomorrow and should you lose," Crowler continued, placing his hands behind his back, "You two will switch dorms!"

Chazz snapped his head back, horrified, "Y-you mean, I'll become a _Ra Yellow_ duelist?!".

"Yes," Crowler clapped a bit, "Now only if you can duel as good as you listen,".

Chazz screamed and ran out of the classroom, while everyone watched him leave.

Christina blinked, "What's the big deal? I'd love to go up a rank...,"

"Chrissy...it's a guy thing, ok? It's called _pride_,"

"How would you know?"

"..."

-----

Jaden stretched as he, Bastion, Syrus and Siho walked along a dirt path. Class was over and Christina had left the group to meet up with an opponent for a duel the two of them had set up while the boys walked Bastion to his dorm, talking about the baseball game in gym they had before Crowler's class.

"...ok, maybe it wasn't a foul, Bastion,"

"Jaden," Syrus glanced at his roommate, "Over the centerfield fence usually isn't...,"

Bastion stopped in his tracks, "Anyway, as I was saying, I play like I duel," he turned the bat in his hands around and the Slifers saw a large amount of math equations and formulas were written on the wood.

"Wow...,"

"That's...a _lot_ of numbers,"

"My brain hurts just lookin' at 'em,"

Bastion smiled, "You see, I believe that science, statistics, and geometry play a role in everything we do in life,"

Siho looked at him, "You remind me of Chrissy's aunt,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she's a nerd too,"

-----

"Here we go,"

Bastion opened his door, and as soon as Siho, Syrus and Jaden stepped inside, the first thing they saw were lots of math formulas on the walls, and even the ceiling of the dorm.

"Oh yeah..._nerd_," Siho muttered, grinning.

"Gentlemen, welcome to my lab, workshop and dormroom," Bastion said as he walked up behind them, setting his gym bag on the floor.

"Dude...you trying to solve the mysteries of the universe or something?" Siho wondered aloud.

Bastion chuckled, "No no...these are all formulas and equations regarding Duel Monsters. That side is for Traps," he pointed to one wall, than to another, "That one is for Spells and that one," he pointed to another wall, then smiled, "Well...you get the idea,"

_Oh I'm getting one idea...but I won't say it aloud_ Siho thought, looking around.

"I've memorized all of these, and I need the room for new ones, so...," Bastion bent down and reached under his desk.

"So...what?" all three Slifers asked in unison.

"So, mind helping?" Bastion stood up, holding a mop and bucket, "I'd appreciate it...,"

And so, with the Slifer trio as his assistance, Bastion started to clean and paint his room. While he took the floor, Siho and Syrus took the walls, while Jaden used a ladder for the higher-up equations.

"Hey guys, check it out! I'm Michelangelo! Get it?" Jaden looked down at his friends, "Because I'm painting on the cei-ACK!"

Siho and Syrus turned to see Jaden struggling to keep his balance on the ladder before losing his paintbrush in the process. Moving quickly, Siho managed to avoid the flying brush, but unfortunately for his friend, Syrus was the one who got smacked in the face with it.

Syrus picked himself up, white paint running down his face and some paint stuck in his light blue hair. He looked at Jaden, smiling slightly, "You of course, Jay...this means war,"

Jaden gulped and held up his hands as Syrus picked up a bucket, "Syrus, that was a total accident!"

"That's enough you two! Syrus," Bastion rose to his feet, "Give me that bucket right now!"

Syrus gave the pain to him...because when he emptied the bucket, aiming for Jaden, his intended target ducked and the paint splashed Bastion in the face instead.

Siho began to laugh, "_Nice_ shot!" he said before he _and_ Jaden got a nice helping of paint in the face.

"..." Siho calmly wiped the paint from his face while Jaden shook his head, sending the paint flying.

"PAINT WAR!!!"

At that battle-cry, Siho, Syrus, Bastion and Jaden began to throw paint, brushes, and rags at each other, covering themselves more and more in white paint.

"Take this, Siho!" Syrus cried, tossing another rag at him.

Siho grinned and ran his hands through his hair, spreading the paint, "I'm not Siho...,"

"Eh?" Syrus blinked.

"SEPHIROTH!" Siho leapt at him, brushes in hand.

-----

After the fight and cleaning the rest of the room up, not to mention themselves, Bastion treated the Slifers to some of Ra Yellow's gourmet food. Siho was practically drooling at the sight of the food while Jaden and Syrus were still talking about the incident.

"Hey Siho...,"

The black-haired Slifer turned to the others, "Yo,"

"I was gonna say this earlier, but Jaden stopped me with paint...you know who you looked like with that paint in your hair?" Syrus asked.

Siho shrugged and shook his head, "Sephiroth?"

"Uh...no...,"

"Well, I like to think so. All I'm missing is longer hair and a six-foot sword...,"

Syrus grinned, "Anyway, you looked like one of the duelists from the Battle City tournament that happened awhile back," he explained.

"...say what?"

Jaden looked at him, "Yeah he's right! You look like that kid who fought Yugi in one of the finals...uh...what was his name?"

"Ryou Bakura,"

"That's right, thanks Sy,"

Siho blinked and scoffed, "You think I look like Bakura? Please, I look nothing like him!"

"Like who?" Bastion inquired as he sat down after getting a tray of lobster from the meal area. Jaden gaped at the sight while Syrus turned to him, "Don't you think, that with the white paint in his hair, Siho looks like Bakura?"

Bastion glanced at Siho and shrugged, "Not really...,"

"See, even the nerd thinks I don't look like him," Siho said, ignoring the light glare he recieved from Bastion, "Now, onto more important matters..," he rammed a fork into the piece of steak in front of him and crammed it into his mouth, "Dis stuff rocks!".

Bastion grimaced, "Your table manners could use some improvement, Zolaro. Also, you flatter us Ra's. The food here _can't_ be better than Slifers," he said, prying a piece of shell from the lobster in front of him.

Jaden shook his head, still staring at the lobster, "You kidding? The closest thing we have to fish is the breath of Banner's cat!"

"Speaking of bottomdwellers," Syrus looked up at Bastion, "At the baseball game, what were you talking to Crowler about?"

"Probably telling him the math equation to take away the black eye he got from Jaden's hit," Siho cracked.

Bastion smiled, "Actually, he wants me to test to be an Obelisk,"

"Oh...so that's what that thing in class was about...," Siho wiped his mouth, "Yeah, Chrissy and I heard about that...sounds like a great match,"

"So _that's_ why you were cleaning your room? Because you're switching dorms?" Jaden asked, smiling from ear to ear.

Bastion attempted to smile, but it never came all the way. Siho raised an eyebrow, but went back to his lunch.

"Anyway, you deserve it! You're good man!"

"Again," Bastion shook his head, "You flatter me, Jaden,"

"C'mon, don't be modest! I saw your duel at the entrance exams! You kicked that dueling proctors butt from here to the moon," Jaden insisted.

Bastion chuckled lightly, "Thank you...,"

"Don't mention it...now if you'll excuse me...," Jaden practically buried his head into his plate of food, using his fork and knife every now and then to snag food. Siho looked at Jaden, then at Bastion, "So..._who_ needs work on their table manners?"

-----

That night, while everyone else was either eating dinner, going over their decks, or even sleeping, Chazz Princeton sat alone in his dorm room, staring at his television set where two men in suits were on split-screen, each looking rather intimidating. One had his black hair curling up in the back and a goatee, while the other had neatly combed hair, but nothing facial like the other.

"Got it, Chazz?"

"Yeah...I got it,"

"I can't hear you!"

"_Yes_, I got it Slade!"

"You had better, Chazz!" the man with the goatee snapped, "The Princeton Brothers have a _plan_. Jagger and I are following our ends of it,"

The man on the other side of the screen nodded, "You _better_ be following your end of the plan, too, Chazz! Just think of it little bro: the world of finance, politics and Duel Monsters! If we control them all, we control the world! So be the best!"

"The future of the Princeton family depends on it," Slade added, scowling, "It depends on _you_!"

Chazz watched as his brothers screens shut off at the same time, then stood up and walked over to his window, looking out at the Academy.

_Be the best? How can I be the best with lucky punks like Jaden here?_ he wondered as he watched a familiar group of kids join at a crossroads down the hill, _What the...?_

Bastion was walking alongside Jaden and his other two friends towards the Slifer Red dorms for some reason.

_Hmm...if Bastion's going off to the Slifer Slacker's dorm for the night...than his own dorm room should be empty..._ he thought _Wait a second..._

As he watched the group walk down the path, Chazz couldn't help but smile as something crossed his mind.

-----

"JADEN! JADEN WAKE UP!"

Dorothy, the owner of the school's card shop pounded on Jaden's door as hard and fast as she could. The noise was so loud, she not only woke up Jaden, but she woke up Siho as well.

Siho leaned outward of the doorway, a very irritated look on his face, "Ya know...no dis-respect to you ma'am, but...some people are trying to get some frickin' shut eye!" he yelled.

Before she could retort, Dorothy backed away from the door as Jaden opened it up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Waddup, Miss Dorothy?" he yawned.

Dorothy pointed towards to the dock, "I was out watching the shipments get loaded and unloaded and then I saw them!"

"Saw _what_?"

"I vote dead body!"

Dorothy looked at Siho shocked at the idea, then turned back to Jaden, "In the bay, cards are everywhere! Someone just threw them all away!"

"What?!"

The plump woman pressed herself against the railing as Chumley, Siho, Jaden, Syrus and Bastion darted out of the rooms and headed towards the bay, "Be careful boys!" she shouted.

After what seemed like forever running, the group made it to the docking area and saw that Dorothy was telling the truth. A decks worth of cards were floating around, completely soaked. Christina climbed out, water dripping onto the cement as she slapped a handful of cards onto the dock.

"Someone...is...gonna...pay...dearly...for this," she panted as she stood up.

"Christina, what are you doing here?"

She shook her head, her long hair practically slapping the boys in the face, "I came down here for a walk, then I saw Miss Dorothy and the cards. She said she was gonna get you guys, so I dove in to see what I could salvage,"

Syrus looked at the cards she had managed to save, "It's Ring of Destruction and Vorse Raider...Bastion, these are _your_ cards!".

Bastion frowned at the sight and shook his head, "It's my fault...I put this deck in my desk before moving out into the hallway while my room dried,"

"Someone tossed the deck, but who and why?" Syrus asked him.

"Ain't it obvious?" Siho put his hands behind his back.

"Oh yeah...," Christina twisted her hair, causing more water to fall out, "Someone who doesn't want him to duel in his exam..,"

Jaden looked at his friend, "What are you going to do now, Bastion? Your deck is gone and your exam starts in less than an hour,"

_What am I going to do, Jaden? _Bastion looked at the soaked cards, _Just wait and see what I'm going to do_

_-----_

"Bastion, you made it!" Crowler greeted as the Ra student made his way into the arena, followed by the Slifers, "Oh...and I see you've brought some _friends_," he added bitterly.

Chazz smirked, "Let's just hope you can duel better than the company you keep,"

Jaden frowned, "Wait, so Chazz is your opponent?" he turned to Bastion, "He must've been the one who tossed your cards!".

Crowler reared his head back, surprised, "_Pardon_?"

"Feh, I don't know what they're talking about Doctor Crowler," Chazz said, looking at his Dorm Head, "I didn't do a damn thing!"

"Oh, is that so?" an angry voice came from behind the Slifers and Bastion.

Jaden blinked, there, before them were Zane, Alexis and Jordan standing a short distance away from them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Christina asked them.

Alexis ignored her, "I saw you this morning Chazz, at the docks! I saw you toss all of Bastion's cards into the water and ran off!" she huffed, "Normally, I wouldn't snitch, but the one thing you should never do is mess with someone else's deck, Chazz!"

Jaden nodded and turned back around, "Right, that's low, even for _you_, Chazz,"

The Obelisk shrugged, "Aw c'mon, whose to say I wasn't throwing away my own cards? I always get spares I don't need, so why not toss them? Besides, I guess Bastion and I have similar cards in our possesion,"

"Liar!" Jaden spat.

Chazz glared at him, "No one calls me a liar and no one calls me a thief, Slifer Slacker!" he snapped angrily.

Bastion stepped forward, fingers at his blazer, fiddling with his buttons, "Fine, Chazz, you're not. Let's just have our duel, shall we?"

Siho raised an eyebrow, "Uh...you do realize that your deck got soaked right? How are you gonna duel?"

"A good duelist always has a spare deck, Zolaro. You and the others saw all the equations in my room, well they were all for my different dueling decks," Bastion ripped over his blazer to reveal that he had six decks strapped to his shirt, "And each one of them is as powerful as the last!"

Taken back, Chazz looked as calm as possible at the twist, "Doesn't matter if you have six decks, Misawa...," he held up his own deck, "Cause all I need is this one! Now let's duel, Ra!"

Bastion smiled as he walked onto the platform, inserting one of his six decks into his Duel Disk, "I thought you'd never ask,"

"Duel!" they both cried.

**C: 4000  
B: 4000**

"You know what you are, Chazz?" Bastion asked as he drew his opening hand, "A problem to be solved, a theorem waiting to be cracked. You're finished!"

"Bring it on!" Chazz drew his cards, "First off, I'll summon Chthonian Soldier (1200/1400) and a facedown for now...," he said as a dark armored brute appeared on the field, curved sword and round shield at the ready.

"Oh will it now?" Bastion said with a bit of confidence as he drew his card, "I summon Hydrogeddon (1600/1000) in attack mode!" he declared as a large creature appeared in front of him. The creature looked as though it were made completely of muddy water. The only thing you could see was it's eyes.

Bastion pointed to the opposing monster, "Now, attack Chthonian Soldier with Hydro Gust! Destroy him!" he ordered.

Chazz looked away as the Hydrogeddon unleashed a stream of water onto his soldier, wiping it away from the field. He grinned, "Thanks for that, Bastion, you just activated my Chthonian Soldier's special ability: when he's destroyed in battle, you take as much damage as I did!"

**C: 3600  
B: 3600**

Bastion looked unphased, "Really? Now, I activate a special ability of my own! You see Chazz, everytime Hydrogeddon destroys a monster in battle, I can Special Summon one from my deck to my field...now rise, Hydrogeddon!" he commanded, slapping another copy of his monster onto his disk.

Chazz glared as an identical Hydrogeddon stood before it's sibling.

"Also, my Battle Phase is still going, so I'll have my Hydrogeddon attack you directly. Hydrogeddon, attack Chazz with Hydro Gust!"

Before Chazz had a chance to brace himself, the attack from the monster struck him dead on, sending him sliding along the platform.

**C: 2000  
B: 3600**

"You'll pay for that," Chazz growled as he stood back up, "I activate my Trap Card, Call of the Haunted! With this card, I can Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard and I choose Chthonian Soldier!" he cried as his dark soldier came back to the field, "Next, I play the Spell Card, Infernal Reckless Summon! This allows us both to summon from our deck, hand or Graveyard, any monster with the same name as the monsters we already have on the field.

-----

Alexis frowned as Chazz gained a total of three Chthonian Soldiers and Bastion gained a total of three Hydrogeddons on their sides of the field.

"It makes no sense, no matter how many of those Chazz brings out, none of those soldiers are strong enough to take down those Hydrogeddons...,"

Zane shook his head, "Not by themselves they won't,"

Siho and Christina looked at each other, then at Zane, "What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

He looked at them, then nodded to the duel, "Watch...,"

-----

"Next, I play the Equip Spell Card, Chthonian Alliance!" Chazz inserted the card into his disk, "The monster equipped with this card gains 800 Attack Points for every monster on the field that has the same name as him,"

Everyone watched as the first Chthonian Soldier grew into a much larger version of itself, letting out a roar as it finished it's boost.

"Which brings its attacks points to...," Chazz shrugged, "Well, _you're_ the math nerd, Bastion, you figure it out!"

Chthonian Soldier 1 (3600/1400)

"Attack, Chthonian Soldier!"

The huge warrior let out a cry, then sliced deep into one of the Hydrogeddons, destroying it easily, making Bastion's Life Points go down.

**C: 2000  
B: 1600**

"Bravo, good show...but it will be short lived," Bastion said as he drew his next card, "Rise, Oxygeddon (1800/800)!".

In the middle of the remaining two Hydrogeddons, a large pterodactyl like monster appeared, looking as though it's body was formed out of pure gas.

"Now attack the 1200 attack point Chthonian Soldier with Vapor Stream!"

Oxygeddon let out a screech, then sent out a nearly invisible blast that sent the weaker Soldier to the Graveyard.

Chazz grinned, "Did you forget? When a Chthonian Soldier is destroyed in battle, you take the same amout of damage I did...some whiz kid you are..,"

**C: 1400  
B: 1000**

"My turns not over yet, Chazz. Now, one of my Hydrogeddon's will attack the other, less powerful Chthonian Soldier!"

Much like before, a Chthonian Soldier was destroyed after recieving a high pressure water blast from the muddy-looking creature.

"So?" Chazz spat, "That damage still goes to you!"

**C: 1000  
B: 600**

-----

"Why does Bastion keep attacking?" Syrus wondered aloud, "He's only hurting himself...,"

"Don't ask my Syrus, if Bastion's deck is like him, I'll never understand what he's thinking," Christina sighed, scratching her head.

Siho shook his head, "Don't worry about it,"

"Yeah, he's doing just fine," Jaden agreed with a nod.

Zane couldn't help smile a little, "Bastion is playing smart. The Chthonian Soldier with that equip card has 3600 Attack Points, so Bastion would have to summon a really powerful monster to destroy it, unless he took out the weaker Soldiers to make the strongest one weaker...," he explained as the remaining soldier shrank two sizes.

Chthonian Soldier (2000/1400)

"Oh...I see,"

"Well I wish I understood it...," Christina muttered.

-----

"Last, I place a card facedown and end my turn," Bastion said as he inserted a card into his disk, "That will do for now,"

Chazz smirked as he drew his card, "Will it? I wouldn't be so sure of it, Whiz Kid. I'm sacrificing Chthonian Soldier and all the cards in my hand to summon Infernal Incinerator (2800/1800! Didn't see _that_ one coming, did ya?" he cackled.

Bastion stared as a big orb of fire appeared on the field, "Infernal Incinerator?!"

Soon after it appeared, the ball exploded and sent a shockwave through the arena, making everyone cover themselves for safety.

Bastion looked up and saw that in the orb's place, a huge repulsing insect-like creature stood int it's place. It's body was dark red, had eight spikey legs and a fat tail on the end of it's body.

"Better break out your calculator, because if you can't find a formula to beat this guy _this_ turn, Bastion. Face it, you don't stand a chance!" Chazz smirked, "Especially while his Attack Points increase 200 points for every monster on the field!"

Infernal Incinerator (3400/1800)

-----

"That thing has 3400 Attack Points!" Jaden exclaimed, "But that means-,"

"No matter what monster is attacked, Bastion will lose!" Jordan finished for him.

Christina turned to Siho and was surprised. Her best friend had a look of glee on his face and could swear he was drooling. She looked at him, then followed his line of sight to see that he was staring at the Infernal monster. She shook her head, "Figures...,"

"I hope to Ra that's a Fiend...,"

"Down boy,"

-----

"Infernal Incinerator, attack with Firestorm Blast!" Chazz ordered, "Destroy his monster!"

The huge monster roared and let out a torrent of flame, aimed directly at Bastion and his monsters. However, Bastion seemed calm.

"I activate my Trap Card, Amorphic Barrier!"

Just as the fire blast was about to punch through a monster, a huge crystal wall shot up from the floor, blocking it from Bastion's monsters.

"When I have there or more monsters on my side of the field, this Trap negates my opponent's attack and ends the battle!" he explained, "But nice try, Chazz,"

Chazz scoffed, "So what? I'll get you next turn,"

"Sorry to disappoint you Chazz, but I'm afraid there won't be a next turn...,"

"What?!"

"You heard me...," Bastion drew his card, "I now activate the Magic Card, Bonding H2O! By sacrificing two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon, I can summon Water Dragon (2800/2600!)"

The three monsters dissolved and in their place, a huge serpent of crystal clear water rose from the floor, curling up and leeting out a roar.

"Also, since the number of monsters is decreased from three to one, your monster loses it's Attack bonus!"

Infernal Incinerator (3000/1800)

Chazz looked at the Water Dragon, then at his monster, "It doesn't matter, my monsters strength is still higher than yours...,"

"I suggest you double-check your work," Bastion shot back, "Because I've already done all the math!"

-----

"All the math??" Crowler asked, blinking confused, "You mean that...,"

"Bastion's had all this planned out from the start?!" Jaden exclaimed.

"DAMN!" Christina slapped Siho and Syrus on the back, "This is guy is _smart_! He's just like my aunt,"

-----

A huge tidal wave rose out of nowhere and collided into the Incinerator, knocking it back a good few feet, but also having another effect.

Infernal Incinerator (0/1800)

"My monster!" Chazz cried, stunned.

Bastion nodded, "Indeed. While he's out on the field, Water Dragon can use his Special Ability and make an enemy monsters Attack Points drop to zero, as long as they're Fire Attribute or Pyro-type monsters," he explained before looking at his new creature, "Now Water Dragon, attack!"

Chazz looked in horror as the Water Dragon unleashed a gigantic burst of water, not only destroying his monster, but flooding the arena as well, the water level nearly touching the top of the platform.

-----

Christina growled as she began to wring out her hair once again, "I just got it all dry and everything! I'm gonna kill him!"

Siho and Syrus grabbed her in an effort to hold her back from attacking Bastion. Jordan looked at her, then backed away behind his cousin, "Here I thought I only hafta worry about making you mad...," he murmured.

Alexis smirked, "Well now you got two to watch out for,"

-----

Chazz broke the surface, glaring hard at Bastion, who walked to the edge of the platform.

**C: 0  
B: 600**

"A well played duel Chazz, but not well enough,"

"Shut up! It was a lucky draw, Misawa!"

Bastion shrugged, "Perhaps, but luck tends to favor the prepared, Chazz. I was prepared to defeat you with a half dozen other cards as well. Sorry, but you would've lost the duel one way or another, Chazz. Deny it if you want, just like you denied throwing my deck into the ocean,"

"Prove it!" Chazz snapped.

"If you insist," Bastion took a card from his back pocket and held it out, "A card that Christina managed to fish out, and it has a formula that I wrote on it,"

Chazz remained silent as he looked at the Vorse Raider card Bastion was holding.

"Well, you _could _have written it down, but then the math would probably be wrong, but it's not! This is _my _card, Chazz...and you threw it away in an effort to cheat your way through this duel because you didn't want me to win and earn entry to Obelisk Blue,"

"Shut up!"

"Chazz, you stole, you lied, and you cheated," Bastion scolded, "You _deserve_ to be demoted,"

While Chazz lowered his head at his loss, Crowler stepped onto the platform and made his way to the Ra, "Bastion Misawa, congratulations and welcome to Obelisk Blue!"

Bastion looked at him, "My apologies, Doctor Crowler, but I must decline the invitation,"

Crowler stared at him like he were a madman, "What? Whatever for, my boy?"

"When I first came here, I promised myself that I wouldn't get into Obelisk unless I was the best duelist in the Freshman class," he turned to the Slifers, "Jaden, I believe that is you,"

Jaden grinned, "Hey thanks, does that mean you wanna duel? Seeing you and Chazz go at it makes me wanna have one right now!"

Bastion shook his head, "Not right now. I have a lot of work I must do before I duel you, Jaden. A lot of formulas to write, theorems to solve and formulas to balance. You're a good duelist, Jaden, and I want to be prepared. When that day comes, I'll beat you just like that baseball game,"

Jaden grinned, "That's what you think, Bastion. Baseball may be a past time, but dueling is my life!"

Christina nodded as she watched the two exchange promises and pleasantries, "These two are gonna have some kickass duels in the future...I can feel it,"

"If you say so," Syrus looked around, "Where's Kairi? Isn't she usually with you and Siho, Christina? I haven't seen her lately.

_Oh crap! That's right!_ Christina turned and ran out of the arena, "I FORGOT ALL ABOUT HER!"

Jordan watched her leave, "What's her problem?"

Siho shrugged, "I dunno...I just hope she didn't leave Kairi hanging around the dorm with nothing to do,"


	23. A Rhodes Duelist

**A Rhodes Duelist**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

It had been a few days since the duel between Chazz and Bastion, and everything seemed to be going alright for Jaden and the rest of his friends...well almost.

Jordan sat in his seat, studying some notes he had taken during Crowler's class earlier that week, trying to take them all in.

"Name one Trap Card that can prevent a certain monster from being destroyed in Battle?" he read aloud before looking up at the ceiling tapping his chin with his pencil, "Hmm...,"

"Well I see that you're using your free time wisely, Jordan...,"

The Ra Yellow snapped out of his thoughts and looked to the side to see Crowler standing near him. He sat up quickly and reached for his notebook, "Uh, yes sir, Doctor Crowler, I am. Just looking over the notes from your last class...never know when a pop quiz might come up,".

Crowler nodded, "Quite right, my boy. I hope you continue to study hard and not waste your time like those...Slifer Slackers," he hissed, looking over his shoulder to see Christina, Jaden, Siho and Syrus talking about something.

Jordan frowned, "They're not _all_ slackers, sir. I've seen Christina do her homework more than Jaden and Siho combined," he said a little defensively.

Crowler turned back around and wagged a finger, "Now now, my boy, do not protect the Slackers...you're a Rhodes and you must think of a higher, better place for yourself at this Academy. I'm still surprised that you turned down my offer to be in Obelisk Blue with your cousins,"

"I know, I just didn't think I deserved to be in there just yet,"

"Why not?"

He shrugged, "I'm not as good in those duels like Alexis. Sure, I can get decent grades, but sometimes I have troubles in duels, where as she usually kicks butt," he explained.

Crowler couldn't help but laugh as he patted Jordan on the shoulder, "Nonsense! You're a Rhodes and all Rhodes excel at dueling sooner or later. I'm sure that if you study hard, destroy those Slifer Slackers in many duels, I'm sure you'll gain entry to Obelisk Blue, where you belong!"

_Yeah yeah...all Rhodes belong in Blue...how many times have I heard THAT before? _Jordan thought as Crowler walked off, shouting something at his Slifer friends.

-----

_Why do people always put me in the same league as Alexis?_ Jordan thought as he walked through the forest. He needed some fresh air and decided to fake sick in the next class and walk around.

_I love my cousins, but just because I'm a Rhodes doesn't mean I have to be just like them...why can't Crowler see that? What can't most **people** see that?_

"Now, why are _you_ ditching class?"

Jordan snapped out of his thoughts and saw Christina standing in the middle of the path, duel disk on her arm and her blazer draped around her shoulders.

"I needed sometime to think, Chrissy. What about you?" he shot back.

She shrugged, "I think every once in awhile, a girl can take a break from her harsh academic career and enjoy life as it is,"

"...you lost your homework didn't you?"

"Shaddup,"

Jordan smiled a bit and noticed the Duel Disk, "What are you doing out here with that? Everyone else is inside, you won't find an opponent at this time of day,"

She grinned, "I found one already," she said as she pulled another Duel Disk from behind a nearby tree, "Let's go, you owe me a rematch,"

"A rematch? Right here and _now_?"

She tossed him the Disk, "Mhm, perfect time too. Not only can we do it without getting in trouble, but you can see what changes I've made to my deck," she reasoned.

_Well...I could use an actual duel instead of a test one..._ Jordan thought as he took his deck from his belt and placed his Disk on his arm.

"You ready to get your ass beat this time, Rhodes?"

"Bring it on, Berg!"

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Ladies first...," Christina drew her card, "First, I'll play the Spell Card, Pot of Greed!" she drew two more cards, "Next, I'll place two cards facedown and summon Monk Fighter (1300/1000),".

Jordan raised an eyebrow as a young man with silver hair in an orange gi appeared on the field, "Not an Amazon nor a Warrior-Type monster...," he shrugged as he drew his card, "Fine, whatever...I place one card facedown on the field and end my turn,"

"Alright," Christina drew her next card, "Now, I'll sacrifice my Monk Fighter in order to summon Master Monk (1900/1000) to the field!"

The younger man in robes disappeared and a larger, well-muscled older man with long white hair appeared in his place.

"But, that's not all. That was a Special Summon, so I can still bring in some help! I summon the Creator Incarnate (1600/1500),"

Alongside the Monk, a man in golden armor with a curved blade appeared, the blade held high.

Jordan nodded, "I see you're not relying on your Amazons as much," he observed, "But it won't help you either way,"

"We'll see about that, Master Monk, attack Jordan directly with Rockin' Roundhouse!" she ordered.

The Monk leapt into the air, leg pulled behind his back as he let out a battle cry.

"Not so fast! I activate my facedown Trap Card!" Jordan declared as he pushed a button on his disk.

Christina watched a huge metal creature, with large round holes in it's body appeared out of nowhere, blocking her monsters attack, "What the hell is that thing?!" she yelled as it rose from the earth.

"This is one of my best cards, Christina. This is Mobile Fortress Stronghold (0/2000)!!" Jordan explained looking up at it, "It's a Trap card, but when it's activated it's treated as a monster card in Defense Mode when it's activated, so not only does that attack not work, you lose 100 points!"

**C: 3900  
J: 4000**

_Damn...didn't expect him to have a card like that. Well, at least I still got something I can use later on _Christina thought as she looked at the two cards in her hand, then up at her opponent, "I end my turn,"

Jordan drew his card, "Alright...Chrissy you're about to see something great. I play the Spell card, Gadget Combination **(1)**!"

"Gadget...Combination? I've never heard of it,"

"Well I don't blame you. Anyway, here's how it works," Jordan pulled three cards from his deck, "This allows me to summon three certain monsters from my deck or hand onto the field, as long as I pay 1000 Life Points. So here comes Red Gadget (1300/1500), Green Gadget (1400/600), and last but not least, Yellow Gadget (1200/1200)!!"

Christina watched as three gear-shaped monsters, each with a different color appeared on the field, "Uh...wow...nice, but they're still weak compared to both of my monsters," she pointed out.

**C: 3900  
J: 3000**

Jordan grinned, "Not necessarily...Gadgets, combine with the Fortress now!"

_What the hell..._ Christina watched in amazement as the three different Gadgets leapt onto the giant Trap/Monster and fitted themselves into each hole.

"With all the Gadgets on the Fortress, it's power grows!"

Mobile Fortress Stronghold (3000/2000)

"Aw you gotta be kidding me!" Christina cried, staring at the power level.

Jordan shook his head, "Sorry, but no. With the Gadgets supporting it, the Mobile Fortress' power goes to that of 3000, the same power of the great Blue Eyes White Dragon! Now, before I go on, I'll play Dian Keto the Cure Master, to gain the 1000 Life Points I lost!"

**C: 3900  
J: 4000**

Mobile Fortress, attack Master Monk now!"

The Mobile Fortress groaned as it rose to full height, the joints creaking. It slowly stomped over to the Monk and raised it's huge fist, but before it could bring it down...

"Activate Trap Card, Magic Cylinder!"

A pair of tubes appeared and the fist punched through one tube, then popped out of the other, soaring through the air before striking Jordan hard in the chest, sending the Ra flying.

**C: 3900  
J: 1000**

Christina drew her card as Jordan rose to his feet, "Alright...first, I play the facedown Spell Card, Hamburger Recipe," she skimmed through her deck before reaching for her cards on the disk, "By sacrificing my Master Monk and my Creator Incarnate, I can summon this: Hungry Burger (2000/1850)!"

Jordan raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as a very large, and rabid looking fastfood dish appeared on the field in the two monsters place, snapping it's bun jaws around like crazy.

"What the hell...?"

"It's strange, yes, but believe it or not, but this is a Warrior-Type monster," Christina smiled, looking fondly at the burger monster.

"_That's_ a Warrior? Looks like a Burger King meal that got dumped in toxic waste," Jordan cracked, "You done or not?"

"Hell no!" Christina glared at him, "Next, thanks to him being a Level 6 Ritual Monster, I can play this card: Ritual Weapon! This allows me to boost a Ritual Monsters power by 1500 points, as long as it's Level 6 or below," she explained as her fastfood monster began to change.

The fangs under it's buns became shiner and sharper, while large arrows appeared, sticking out between the condiments and the meat. Now, it looked like a strange cross between a hamburger and something out of a sci-fi movie.

Hungry Burger (3500/1850)

"Hungry Burger, attack Mobile Fortress with Greasy Fat Assault **(2)**!"

Jordan watched as the Hungry Burger leapt into the air, buns and jaws flapping crazily before enveloping itself around the Fortress' head, blowing it to pieces.

**C: 3900  
J: 500**

"BOOYA!" Christina bounced, "Big bad machine gone and one more turn to go before this is all over!"

"Try it...,"

"Eh?" Christina stopped her happy bouncing and watched as the Gadgets stayed on the field while the remains of the Mobile Fortress lay behind them, "Hey, what gives!"

Jordan shook his head, "Since you don't know this combo, I'll explain. If my Gadgets are attached to the Fortress, they become one-,"

"Uh huh,"

"-and when it's destroyed, the three Gadgets return to the field, avoiding destruction...meaning, I have more than enough monsters on my field to do my next plan,"

_Plan?_ Christina frowned _Nah, he's bluffing, he's got nothing!_

"Are you done?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm done,"

"Good...because this duel ends here!" Jordan told her as he drew his next card, "I play the Spell card Polymerization! With this, I fuse the Machine King and Perfect Machine King in my hand to summon...Ultimate Machine King **(3) **(3000/2200)!"

Christina's jaw dropped as a huge, mechanical robot dropped from the sky, a large electrificed crown on it's head and huge batteries on it's limbs.

"What the...,"

"_This _is one of my best cards as well, Christina. It has a few good effects as well. For one, for every Machine-Type monster in my Graveyard, it gains 300 ATK points. So, the two other Machine Kings in my Graveyard slot give strength to their great brethren!"

Ultimate Machine King (3600/2200)

"Before I attack, I'll activate his other effect...by discarding a card from my hand, he automatically destroys a monster on your side of the field, or in this case, the _only _monster on the field!"

"Oh crap!" Christina looked away as a lightning zap from the huge machine monster burned her burger to a crisp. She looked to the remains and placed a hand over her heart, "It's gone to the great broiler in the sky...,"

"Now to finish this. That card I tossed was my Machine King Prototype...and since _that's_ a Machine-Type monster, Ultimate Machine King gains more power!"

Ultimate Machine King (3900/2200)

"Attack with Ultimate Fist! End this duel!"

Christina whimpered as the huge Machine monster brought down it's fist on her and her unprotected Life Points. She screamed as she skidded a few good feet across the dirt path, sending a dirt cloud into the air.

**C: 0  
J: 500**

"That's it...you lose, again,"

Christina sat up and shook her head, "Dammit!" she looked at Jordan who clipped his deck case to his belt, "Man, you're good...then again, you _are _a Rhodes,".

Jordan looked at her, then turned and started to walk back to the Academy, "That's what I keep hearing, Chrissy...," he said, waving back at her, "Keep working on that deck...it still needs help,".

The Slifer girl frowned as her Ra friend walked off. She tilted her head to the side and scratched the side of her face, "Was it something I said?"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: well there's that one. Now I KNOW I've been going with the eps, but I didn't feel like doing the monkey one. Don't worry, I'll be sure to mention it, so it's there in someway. See ya later!**

**(1) A card for Jordan, made by Blue Eyes White Knight**

**(2) LOL, this was fun. I've NEVER seen that card ever played in either series, so I wondered, what it's attack would be called? So, when thinking fastfood, I also think of heart attacks, thanks to some other cartoons I watch, so there ya go, LOL.**

**(3) Another card by BEWK.**


	24. Spirit, Some People Fear It

**Spirit, Some People Fear It**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: wow, cannot believe this has become popular...**

**Yami K: OI! Hikari!**

**Kilnorc: Waddup?**

**Yami K: didn't you realize it? GX Heroes has passed the 100 review mark!**

**Kilnorc: -stares at reviews, then faints-**

**Yami K: -pokes with a stick- um...ok, you guys enjoy the chapter, I'll see if I can get him up... -pokes some more-**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Help! HELP!"

The forest was dark as a young man ran as hard as he could through it. It was a cold night, and most people would be nice and warm inside their dorm rooms, but this boy wasn't so lucky. He was running for his very life.

_I can't believe this is happening!_ he thought, glancing over his shoulder as he ran, _I can't believe he came alive!! He took my friends..._

"PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

-----

Christina sighed as she watched snowflakes fall from the evening sky. The normally loud Slifer dorms were now rather quiet as only a few Slifers occupied it now.

"I can't believe everyone left for winter break...," she sighed again.

"Don't complain, Chrissy," Siho nudged her, "We don't hafta put up with so many annoying Obelisks looking down on us,"

"Besides, more duels for us!"

_Of course, Jaden..._ she rolled her eyes, smiling.

"Lishius...that also means more cafeteria food for us,"

_And there's Koala Boy's comment _she thought as she turned around to see the other Slifers in the main eating hall of Slifer Red. Professor Banner, Chumley, Pharaoh, and Kairi were sitting near a small barbecue grill cooking something, while Jaden and Syrus were having a friend duel nearby.

Banner looked at the contents on the grill, "With that said, Chumley, I can't help but wonder why all we're eating are marshmellows...,"

"Well we already ate all the grilled cheeses,"

Banner raised an eyebrow at Chumley, "_We?_"

Kairi leaned in, feeling the heat of the grill as she and Pharaoh watched the marshmellows grow bigger, "I'm not complaining, I love marshmellows...are they done yet?"

_POP POP_

Pharaoh mewled and Kairi yelped as two rather large marshmellows exploded, sending bits of melted white goo at them.

Siho leaned against the wall next to the door, "Yeah I think they're done...," he cracked, earning himself a glare from Kairi.

"Shaddup, that stuff can really hurt!" she snapped.

"Oh c'mon, it wasn't that bad of a j-,"

A loud crashing sound made Siho jump away from the door while everyone else stopped what they were doing and turned to the source of the disruption.

Another student, an Obelisk Blue, had crashed through the door and now lay on bits of wood and glass. Siho knelt down and shook him gently, "Hey, boyo...you alright, can you hear me?"

Jaden walked up, "You ok, bro? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I...I have...," the boy picked his head up and looked at them with a terrified look in his eyes.

"Uh...what are you talking about...,"

"Jinzo!" the boy shrieked, "The Duel Monsters card!"

Jaden and Siho exchanged looks, then turned to their Dorm head.

"Professor Banner, you might wanna call the school nurse...,"

Banner walked up to them, looking at the boy, "I know you...you're Torrey. You were in my Para-Dueling class,"

The boy, Torrey, looked up at him and nodded, "That's right...," he reached over and grabbed Banner's pants, "That lecture you gave about Duel Spirits being real...it's all true! We brought one to life...," he whimpered.

"Better make that the school shrink," Siho interjected.

Banner knelt down and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, "Calm down, Torrey, tell us what happened,"

"Yes, Professor...,"

-Flashback-

_**A while back, I told some of my friends about what you said and that under certain conditions, Duel Spirits can come to life. Well...we started to try and make those conditions...even though the Academy forbids it.**_

**_We did it a couple of times, but nothing happened...until yesterday._**

_In the library, three boys stood in front of a table, each one holding a set of candles while earing robes. One was Torrey, another was a shorter boy, and the last one was a plump boy. The smaller boy placed a board on the table and looked at his friends._

**_Maybe it was because we used our bedsheets as robes, or that we used Doctor Crowler's bath candles, but anyway, this time something was different! You see, we all put our hands on a Oujia Board and said the incantantion..._**

_"From vapor to flesh, wind to a roar, come Jinzo from the Land of Yore!" the three said in unison, their hands planted firmly of the seeing glass on the Oujia board. All of them stood there in silence, looking around to see if anything happened._

_"Dude, did it work?"_

_"Shut up...,"_

_The smaller boy opened his mouth to say something, but turned to his head as a book fell from the second floor shelving. Torrey and the other boy noticed the book and immediately began to grow nervous._

_"Guys!"_

_They all looked down at the glass as it began to move around, settling itself on different letters._

-End Flashback-

Torrey lowered his head, 'The Ouija Board spelled out 'Give me three, and I'll be free'. We thought that he meant cards!"

Banner frowned, "Dear me...cards alone won't satisify Jinzo's appetite. This is just awful!"

Torrey opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Siho grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall, glaring hard at the boy.

"You _idiot!_"

"Siho!" Banner scolded, "Let him go, now!"

"You stupid, stupid _idiot_!" Siho growled, ignoring Banner, "You _never_ mess with spirits! If you summon a spirit from the other world using a Oujia Board, there's a good chance you won't get a good ghost like Casper! What in God's name were you thinking?!"

"Siho!"

Torrey grabbed the Slifer's wrists, "We just...wanted to see if it worked...,"

"Oh, you wanted to see if it worked? Well nice going, dumbass! You might as well used the Necronomicon to see if Deadites came by!"

Christina came between the two of them and pushed Siho away, "Calm down," she hissed.

While Christina prevented Siho from wailing on the Obelisk, Kairi leaned inward, "What did he mean by, give me three and I'll be free, if he didn't mean cards?".

Torrey looked at her, "He meant people!"

"People?!" Kairi stumbled back, "Dude, bad mojo! Bad mojo!" she held up a cross sign using her fingers, "BAAAAAAD MOJO!"

"The worst thing is, we had already agreed...," Torrey lowered his head again, "...before we even knew what he meant. Now my friends...,"

"What about them? Torrey, what happened?" Banner asked kindly.

Torrey shook his head, "They're both gone! At first, one of them disappeared, then the other one vanished...now he's coming after me,"

Jaden looked at Chumley, who shrugged, then looked back to Torrey, "You sure they didn't just leave on break?" he suggested.

"Please, are you that naive?!" Siho started to them, but Christina held him back, "Haven't you ever seen a horror movie? You mess with the supernatural, chances are when you don't see someone for a while, they didn't leave for home!"

Torrey nodded, "He's right...I called their parents, but they had no idea where they were. Even _I_ tried to get on the ferry to get away, but when I got to the docks, he was there, on the boat waiting for me! No where is safe!" he sobbed, "No where...,".

Jaden frowned _Well it seems the Slifer Dorm is safe..._

Suddenly, the lights went out and the whole room was dark. A loud scream was heard, followed by rapid thumping of footsteps and kitchenware being knocked over.

Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, Siho noticed Kairi wasn't in her previous spot, "Where's Lumina?" he looked around.

The rattling of pots and pans were heard as Kairi rose from behind a counter in the Slifer kitchen, "Yo...,"

"This is freakin' me out...,"

Banner held up his hands as Pharaoh let out a hiss and mewled, "Relax everyone, maybe it was just a fuse going out,"

"Or maybe a bulb?" Chumley offered.

"Or maybe...it was _me_!"

Everyone yelled and turned to the door, seeing a tall man in a black leather coat and hat standing just outside, holding an unconcious Torrey under his arm.

_Is that...Jinzo? _Siho frowned, peering at the figure, _Why is a spirit dressed like that..._

"Let Torrey go, Jinzo!" Jaden snapped, "Drop him!"

Jinzo chuckled darkly, "We have a deal!" he cackled before turning and running off into the woods.

"Aw hell no!" Siho leapt over a table and ran out of the dorm, "I'm not gonna let you get away with this!"

"Siho!"

Jaden looked at Christina, "Stay here with Kairi, we'll go help Siho,"

"But...,"

Before she could stop them, everyone else left the dorm, leaving Kairi and her in the darkened room.

_Be careful you guys..._

-----

After a short while of searching, the group stopped running when they reached an area with a fenced off perimeter, a tall metal tower at each corner with wires and generators lining the fence.

"Where are we...?" Syrus asked.

Banner looked around, "From the looks of things, this might be the central power station for the whole island...,"

Jaden looked at Siho, who was panting, staring ahead, "You ok?"

"I'm fine...," Siho breathed heavily.

"What was that all about earlier? Why'd you flip out when Torrey mentioned what he and the others did?"

Siho glanced at him, "It's nothing Jaden...don't worry yourself about that. Worry about _him_," he pointed ahead.

Jaden followed his finger, and saw Torrey laying on the ground nearby, "Torrey!" he started running up to him, "You're safe now, buddy!"

"Jaden, I wasn't talking about him!"

Seconds later Siho's shout reached his ears, Jaden stopped running as a bright light ripped through the dark night. A cold, dark laugh echoed as electiricity arced and jumped from the four towers, crackling around the area.

Everyone watched as Jinzo appeared out of nowhere, laughing as the energy flashed. His body wasn't covered with a coat and hat anymore, he looked his image on the Duel Monster card, only it looked shimmery, as if it were a holo-image that was low on battery power.

"_None_ of you are safe!"

Siho glared at Jinzo, "You have no right to take people and their souls to feed yourself, Jinzo! Release the boy and the others you have taken, right now!" he ordered.

Jinzo laughed, "Fool...as I said, he made a deal and I am just fulfilling it,"

"What's going on?" Syrus turned to Banner, pointing to the shimmery creature, "Why does Jinzo look like that?"

Banner looked at Jinzo, then at the towers which still sparked electricity, "He's using the power of the supply station to keep himself in this world until his appetite is satisified. He's a crafty one...,"

"If you want a third soul Jinzo...," Jaden stepped forward, "Take me!"

Jinzo looked at Jaden for a bit, then laughed, "You _do _seem to have more vitality than this pathetic human...," he glanced at Torrey's form, "Very well, I'll take you up on your offer,"

"On _one_ condition: we duel! If I win, you release Torrey and the other kids you took and if you win, you can have me,"

"A duel?" Jinzo seemed to think for a few moments, "Alright. I should be sustained long enough by this electrical limbo for a match," he laughed as more white arcs appeared around them, "First I'll beat you, then I"ll consume you!"

Jaden held up his duel disk and it whirred to life, "Get your game on, Jinzo!"

**JY: 4000  
JZ: 4000**

Jinzo nodded as five large cards appeared behind him, "It's on...," he paused as a sixth card appeared in front of him, "First, I summon Malice Doll of Demise (1600/1700) in Attack Mode!"

Siho watched as a very creepy looking doll with a large axe appeared on the field, it's wide eyes looking at Jaden.

"Hey, check it out, guys," he turned to Syrus and the others, "It's Chucky's cousin!"

**(Author's Note: Aw c'mon like no one considered that joke when this ep came up!)**

"Next, I'll play the Spell Card, Ectoplasmer! This fiendish spirit allows each player to sacrifice a monster on their field at the end of their turn. Then, half of the monster's Attack is dealt to the opponent as Direct Damage!"

A long, white worm-like spirit rose from the Doll, and flew right through Jaden's chest. The Slifer winced as his points went down.

**JY: 3200  
JZ: 4000**

"Jaden's already falling behind and it's not even his first turn yet!" Syrus gasped.

Siho folded his arms, _C'mon Jaden, send this...abomination of a spirit back to where it came from!_

Jaden rose to his feet, looking on at the field, _That Ectoplasmer's a Contiuous Spell Card. Jinzo will be able to use it's magic every turn. But luckily so can I._

"Alright Spooky," Jaden drew his card and looked at his hand, "This will have to do. I summon Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in Attack mode, then I'll throw down four facedowns...,"

Siho frowned, _He's wasting his entire hand all at once, that's not a real good thing to do in ANY duel, let alone one like this_ he thought as the winged Hero appeared on the field.

"Next, I'll play a Continuous Spell Card of my own," Jaden grinned as he inserted the final card in his hand, "Mirage of Nightmare! Now, when it's your turn, I get to draw four cards, but when it's _my_ turn I'll have to discard four cards. But before all that, I'll have my Avian attack you! Wingstorm Strike!"

Jinzo growled as Avian's punch, literally, went right through him, leaving a hole in it's wake.

**JY: 3200  
JZ: 3000**

"I'm not done yet," Jaden grinned wider, "Now I'll use your own Ectoplasmer sacrifice effect against you. I'll sacrifice my Avian and deal you damage equal to half of his own Attack Points,"

Avian fell to his knees, but a spirit form of itself rose from it's body and punched Jinzo in the chest, just like it's physical counterpart had done.

**JY: 3200  
JZ: 2500**

"Someone call the Soul Society," Siho pointed to the transparent Avian before it disappeared, "Tell them to get Rukia and Ichigo over here now!"

Syrus looked at him, "How can you make jokes at a time like this? Aren't you scared?"

"Not really...,"

Jaden pumped his arm, "Yeah, we got ourselves a game now!"

Jinzo growled as another card appeared in front of him, "A game that you will soon lose. Since Malice Doll of Demise was sent to the Graveyard thanks to an effect of a Spell Card, he resurrects...,"

The ugly, creepy-looking doll rose from the earth, gripping it's axe while it seemed to grin at Jaden.

"Speaking of Spells, mine now activates...Mirage of Nightmare!" Jaden drew his four new cards, "Next, I'll play one of my facedowns Emergency Provisions! As long as I give up a Magic or Trap Card, I can gain 1000 Life Points, so I'll have to toss Mirage of Nightmare to do it!"

**JY: 4200  
JZ: 2500**

Chumley smiled, "Lishius! Not only did he get 1000 more points, he got rid of Mirage so he won't have to ditch his cards!"

"I summon Emissary of the Afterlife (1600/600)...,"

"On second thought, maybe it would've been better to play some defense," Chumley whimpered.

As a Grim Reaper lookalike appeared, Jinzo pointed to Jaden, "Since you have no monsters out, I can attack you directly. Sickle Slasher!"

The Emissary raised it's scythe into the air and it glowed, ready to strike.

"Not so fast!" Jaden cried as a card was revealed, "I play my Trap Card, A Hero Emerges! Now, you can pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monster, I can summon it out instantly. So go ahead, Jinzo, pick!"

Jinzo lifted a finger, "Far right!"

Jaden looked at the card and placed it on the field, "Nice pick...for me, anyway. Say hello to Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)!"

Siho watched as the familiar Hero came from the sky, _Doesn't Jaden have any other Hero cards besides these?_

Both Emissary and Sparkman collided, destroying one another in a flash of light.

"Foolish mortal!" Jinzo snapped, "By sending Emissary to the Graveyard, his special effect is activated. Now, each of us can take a Level 3 monster from our decks and add them to our hands. I choose Thousand-Eyes Idol,"

Jaden looked through his deck, "Well I choose good ol' Burstinatrix (1200/800),"

"So be it, now to continue with my turn," Jinzo looked at his creepy toy doll, "Attack with Cleaver Heaver!" he commanded.

The doll laughed darkly before launching it's axe at Jaden. The Slifer groaned in pain as it passed right through him.

**JY: 2600  
JZ: 2500**

"Don't forget the effect of Ectoplasmer," Jinzo reminded as his doll vanished and it's spirit wrapped itself around Jaden's body.

**JY: 1800  
JZ: 2500**

Jinzo laughed again, "Having this duel was a wonderful idea. It's much more fun, enjoying something...slowly tasting it instead of taking it all in at once,"

"Jaden, your legs!"

The Slifer looked down to see that his legs were looking like Jinzo's body, all shimmery and see through, "What's happening?!"

"I'm cashing in on our duel, boy. You lost half your Life Points, so I'm taking half of your life force," Jinzo explained, "It feels _so good_,"

_Damn, this guy reminds me of the Creeper from The Suffering game_s Siho thought before looking towards Jaden, "Don't worry about it, pal, you can still pull through this,"

"I'm not gonna let you take me Jinzo...I'll duel to the end!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in Attack Mode, but that's not all," he looked on as another facedown was raised, "I'll play from the field, Clay Wrap and equip it to my Clayman!"

Siho watched as a thin, slimey layer covered Clayman entirely, _Clay Wrap?_

"...and I'll just keep on going with Polymerization. I'll fuse Clayman with my Burstinatrix in my hand to create the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500) in Attack Mode!"

_Finally, some good strength!_ Siho grinned as the Hero with a shield and gun arm appeared on the field, _This is gonna get good..._

"Here's the sweet part. Since Clayman was used in the Fusion, both he and Clay Wrap are sent to the Graveyard and that activates it's ability. The ability to destroy a Spell Card on your side of the field!" Jaden pointed to the one that mattered, "I choose your Ectoplasmer!"

Again, Siho frowned at the move _Jaden could've attacked, and used Ectoplasmer to finish the duel here and now, but why didn't he? _he looked at his fellow Slifer _What thoughts are running through your head right now, Yuki?_

"Now it's time to let Blaster do what he does best. Attack with Rampart Barrage!" Jaden ordered.

Jinzo didn't even flinch as the multiple missles flew through the air and struck him head on, knocking a very large chunk of points off his meter.

**JY: 1800  
JZ: 500**

"You should be lucky you didn't have a body to feel that one...I end my turn with a facedown,"

"My draw," Jinzo raised his arm and another card appeared in front of him, "Hehe...and I couldn't have asked for a better one. With this card, my resurrection is all the more closer!"

"What card?!" both Siho and Jaden demanded at the same time.

Jinzo chuckled, "I activate Malice Doll's effect again and have him come back from the Graveyard, but only to sacrifice him in order to summon...," the spirit laughed as his newest card turned around and revealed itself to the others, "JINZO (2400/1500)!!!"

The field came to life all the electricity from the nearby power stations gathered into the air, then struck the card full blast. The card disappeared and a large figure rose, crackling with dark pink energy before the light disappeared and it's place, was the spirit itself: Jinzo, in the flesh.

"Aw c'mon! You can't just draw yourself!" Jaden protested.

"I just did!" Jinzo shot back, "Now I can attack you personally, or rather your Rampart Blaster...Cyber Energy Shock!" he launched an orb of crackling power straight at the Fusion monster, blowing it to pieces on contact.

**JY: 1400  
JZ: 500**

"You're next...,"

_This is bad..._ Siho looked at the field while Chumley began to panic behind him, _Jaden has no monsters, and he can't play any Traps because of Jinzo's special ability to negate the activation and effect of Trap Cards!_

"My move!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in Defense Mode," he declared as a cyborg canine jumped in front of him, crouched, "And there's a reason why he's called Man's Best Friend...,"

Chumley nodded, "If Wroughtweiler is destroyed, Jaden can get an Elemental Hero and Polymerization back from the Graveyard,".

"It's still a risky move, I hope he knows what he's doing," Syrus murmured.

"Are you ready for more pain, mortal?" Jinzo inquired as another card appeared in front of him, "I summon Spirit Caller (1000/1000)!".

Jaden grit his teeth as an elderly looking person in robes appeared besides Jinzo _Here it comes..._ he thought.

"Next, I'll attack your Wroughtweiler with Cyber Energy Shock!"

Jaden looked away as his loyal cyber-dog was destroyed, then grinned, "Oopsie...now I get Clayman and Polymerization back from my Graveyard!" he held up the two cards to show him.

"It doesn't matter...you have no monsters on the field to use them with. Spirit Caller, attack with Breath from Beyond!"

The elderly figure's face changed into a horrid thing that let out a high-pitched screech that passed right through Jaden, making more of his own body turn shimmery and transparent.

**JY: 400  
JZ: 500**

"Finally, I'll equip myself with the Spell Card, Amplifier!" Jinzo paused as a large dome-shaped helmet appeared on his head, "This card allows me to activate my own Trap Cards, despite my Negating Ability. So I bet you can guess what this facedown is," he cackled as the said card appeared beside him, "Your demise is near...,"

"I don't think so!" Jaden drew his next card, "I'm playing the magic from Pot of Greed!" he drew two more cards, "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)," he paused as his blue armored, hosed-armed Hero came to his side, "Next, I'll give him more power by equipping him with Bubble Blaster! This raises his Attack Points by 800!"

E-Hero Bubbleman (1600/1200)

"Now, attack with Bombardic Bubble Barrage!"

Bubbleman took a knee and shot a huge bubble at the Spirit Caller. The bubble burst as soon as it connected, wiping Spirit Caller from the field.

Jinzo chuckled, "Well done...but I activate my Trap Card, Spirit Barrier!" Jinzo raised his arm to reveal his facedown, "This keeps me from taking damage as long as there's a monster on my field, and in case you've forgotten, I'm still here!"

"You're just a phantom to me, Jinzo and this card," Jaden took a card from his hand, "will prove it! I play the Spell card, Fairy of the Spring! With it, I can take on Equip Spell card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose my Clay Wrap!"

"Isn't that the card that can destroy a Spell or Trap when it's sent to the Graveyard?" Siho asked, looking at his other friends.

Chumley nodded, "It could come in handy,"

"I'll end my turn with a facedown," Jaden inserted a card into a slot.

Jinzo laughed, "Pathetic...almost as pathetic as I'm going to make your Bubbleman look!" he launched another energy blast directly at the Hero.

It struck hard, but Jaden grinned, "Sorry, didn't I tell you? When Bubbleman is equipped with Bubble Blaster, when he's attacked, Bubble Blaster takes the hit and he stays on the field!"

The spirit seethed as he set a card on the field beside him, "That buys you _one_ turn...that's it!"

"That's all I need," Jaden drew his card and looked at it, smiling. It was that one card that helped him before in the past.

_Kuriboh!_ Jaden watched as his see-through dueling buddy appeared beside his head cooing _I'm with you there, pal...that is one ugly dude._

He wasn't the only one who could see Kuriboh...

"A spirit?" Jinzo looked on while Siho looked at Jaden, eyebrow raised.

"He's a friend first and a spirit second!" Jaden said defensively, "Which is probably why _he_ doesn't need to snack on human souls to chill out in the Land of the Living! Now back to work...I bring out the Hero Clayman to the field again and I'll equip him with Clay Wrap, just like before!"

Yet again, the thin slimy veil covered Clayman before disappearing from sight.

"That's not all! Next, I'm gonna bust out Polymerization and fuse Bubbleman with Clayman to create the Elemental Hero Mudball Man (1900/3000)!"

_This again? Seriously, Jaden, get some new monsters..._ Siho begged silently, still unmoving from his spot as the round, bubbly Hero appeared.

Jaden smiled, "Now, since Clay Wrap was sent to the Graveyard, I get to use it's effect to destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field, so I choose that Amplifier of yours!"

"NO!" Jinzo roared as the helmet blew apart and as he reverted to his transparent form, flickering in and out of the living world.

_Now that Amplifier's gone, Jinzo will be destroyed because of it's effect_ Siho shifted in his place _Bring it on home, Yuki...slowpoke_

"NO! I WILL NOT LET IT END LIKE THIS! I REFUSE!" Jinzo shrieked before disappearing from sight.

Jaden looked around, "Where'd he go?"

"Head's up!" Siho pointed ahead of him, "We got a body snatcher!"

Jaden followed his finger to see Torrey standing up, his eyes glowing red, "Aw you gotta be kidding me! Torrey, are you ok?!"

"I'm...not Torrey," the Obelisk looked at them all, "I'm Jinzo. I bring myself back with my Call of the Haunted card...," he moaned, looking down at the facedown on the field.

"No you don't!" Jaden pushed a button on his disk, "I activate the Trap Card, Solemn Judgement! It may take half of my Life Points to use it, but that's ok, because it takes that Trap Card you were about to play and destroys it!"

**JY: 200  
JZ: 500**

"Nooo...," Jinzo/Torrey moaned as the card was obliterated.

"Now, Mudball Man, finish him with Fire Shockwave!"

The Hero jumped into the air and let loose a red beam filled with dozens of rings that rained down upon the possessed Obelisk. As it made contact, a bright light appeared and engulfed the whole area.

"My goodness!"

That was all Jaden heard from Banner and the others before he blacked out.

-----

"Sonofa...,"

Jaden opened his eyes slowly and sat up, seeing Siho kick a nearby rock.

"Stupid...foot...fell asleep...,"

"Did we miss breakfast?" Chumley asked, sitting up while the others awoke.

Jaden couldn't help but grin before looking back where Torrey was before he blacked out. Torrey _was_ there, but now, so were the missing two Obelisk Blue students.

"Thank goodness they're back," Banner sighed in relief as they walked up to the sleeping students.

Syrus looked at Jaden, "You think they'll remember anything?"

Jaden hummed and looked at the trio, _Probably better if they forgot. I won't though...Duel Spirits are real, but they're dangerous too._

"Uh...Professor Banner?" Siho pointed behind them, "What's that?"

"Hm?" Banner turned around, "Where?"

Siho curled his fist, "By the treeline...what is that?"

"I don't see what you-,"

_WHAP, WHAP, WHAP._

_BONK, BONK, BONK._

"SIHO!" Banner scolded, seeing the lumps and black eyes on the still sleeping Obelisks.

"What?"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Well, Mudball Man came back, but this time, thanks to some friends, I was prepared for it! LOL! Hope this chapter was good, and I'll catch you guys next time! Ja ne!**


	25. Prince of Tennis

**Prince of Tennis**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Winter break came and went, the students came back and classes began normally again. One class that was going full speed was Gym class. Normally, this was Siho's favorite class, but today...it wasn't. They were playing tennis. Now, he liked tennis, he just hated the fact he wound up in the infirmary because of his opponent.

"Does it hurt...?"

Siho adjusted his place on the infirmary bed, and placed an ice pack between his legs, "Kairi...," he looked to his fellow Slifer, "It _does _hurt...but I don't blame you for nailing me in my nuts, ok? I blame Christina," he turned and glared at his best friend.

"Hey, what did _I_ do?"

"You said, 'I got money for ya Siho, lookit me!'...so I turned and _BAM_ I go down,"

Christina shrugged, "Well at least a ball to your own balls isn't very noticable afterwords. I mean," she nodded to the side and the other two Slifers turned to see Crowler holding an ice pack over his black eye, "Cyclops over there is gonna have that shiner for at least a week,"

"Yeah...that's true," Siho winced as he held up the ice pack, "It's gonna hurt to pee for awhile...,"

Kairi twiddled her fingers, "I sowwy, Siho-kun...," she whispered.

Christina glared at her, while Siho smiled, "No worries, Kairi. Like I said, I don't blame you," he said before tossing the ice pack at Christina, "Get some more ice...,"

"What am I, your servant?!"

"No," he smirked, "You the one who caused this so therefore, the least you can do is gimme some cold ice,"

Christina clenched a fist, eye twitching, "I'll...give you something...,"

_WHACK!_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-----

Jordan looked up from his notebook, and looked around.

_I thought I just heard Siho just now..._ he looked around the tennis court where Jaden was undergoing some routines with another student, then shrugged, "Must've imagined it,". He looked head and saw Mindy, Jasmine, and Syrus walk up to the net on the court while Jaden was getting chewed out by the other kid. Jordan stashed his notebook into his bookbag, then walked out of the stands onto the court.

As he got closer, he could hear some of the conversation the group was having.

"I think he's a bit obsessive...," Jasmine commented.

"Let him obsess over me!" Mindy squealed.

Jordan got a good look at the tennis player and frowned. _Harrington Rosewood, heir to his family's sporting goods company. I'll admit, they have good stuff, but this jerk has been giving me a bad vibe ever since I met up with him._

"Head's up!"

Jordan ducked quickly as a tennis ball came flying at him. Luckily, the ball only grazed his hair and slowed down enough to drop to the floor after passing him.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry!" Jaden apologized before falling to the court floor exhausted, "This is wearing me out...,"

Syrus frowned, "That's what happens when Crowler thinks you're the one who beaned him in the face. Because of that, you gotta do all the tennis playing until you 'like' it," the Slifer sighed and shook his head.

"Hi, Alexis!"

Both Jordan and Harrington turned around at that, to see Alexis walking up to them, the tennis ball that grazed the Ra in her hand.

"Sorry I'm all sweaty, Alexis," Harrington walked up to her, "It's just that I've been-,"

Alexis ignored him and walked over to Jaden, "I've been looking for you Jaden. I ran into Professor Banner on the way here and he said someone spotted Chazz,"

_Chazz..._ Jordan shook his head, _He loses a few duels and he skips out on his family yacht. Jeez, what a crybaby..._

"TIME OUT!"

Jordan, Alexis, and Jaden turned and noticed Harrington stomping up to the net, "Huh?"

Harrington glared at Jaden, "You can't just talk to a first-round pick like Alexis! You can't even Buggy-Whip with a little top-spin to it, so get away from my little Obelisk Pixie!" he snapped.

Jordan's eye twitched at those words, _Your...WHAT?_

"Listen Jaden...just step away from the beautiful girl. She's _way_ outta your league, so don't make me go athletic on you!"

Jaden blinked, "We're just talking...," he turned back to Alexis, "So what were you saying, Lex?"

"_Lex_?!" Harrington popped up between them, "What is that, some kind of pet name? Where'd you come up with that, what's it mean, what's it stand for?!"

Jordan walked up to the group, "It's short for Alexis, jockstrap, and it's not a pet name at all, I use it sometimes when talking to her!"

Harrington spun around, "Aha! So another loser coming after the beautiful pixie of the court!"

Alexis frowned, "First off, _none_ of these guys are after me, and two," she wrapped an arm around Jordan's shoulder, "He's my cousin, so don't call him a loser,"

"Whatever," Harrington turned back to Jaden, "This huddle between us is over!"

"Then back off," Jaden shot back, "I'm just trying to talk here!"

The tennis player grinned and walked past him, "I've just thought of a way to settle this. You and me, Jaden, right now!"

Jaden's shoulder's slumped, "Oh c'mon, a tennis match? You gotta be kiddin' me,"

"Hehehe...," Harrington turned around, "Not a tennis match, Jaden. A duel!"

"A duel?"

"That's right, a duel! The winner of the match gets to be Alexis' fiancee!"

"Whoa, hold up!" Alexis blinked, "Fiancee?!"

Jordan glared at the two, "OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

-----

_This is such a waste of time..._ Jordan shook his head as the two other boys stood on the court, Duel Disks at the ready, _Although, it would be better if Jaden got to be Lex's fiancee...least he's not a creep._

"This is great," Mindy squealed, "Two cute boys dueling for you hand in marriage!"

Alexis sighed and folded her arms, "I'm not getting married, Mindy...,"

"Well, fine, you're getting engaged, why split hairs?" Jasmine said with a smile.

"I'm not getting engaged either Jaz!" she snapped, glaring at her friends, "The only reason I haven't walked out of here is because I want to see if the rumors that Harrington is as good as Zane are true!"

_As good as my brother?_ Syrus turned to Harrington who had a look on his face that meant something big was coming, _Oh boy..._

"That the only reason?" Mindy challenged.

Alexis shrugged, "That and keeping my cousin from going nuts on Harrington after this,"

**J: 4000  
H: 4000**

"Servers first!" Harrington drew his card and looked at his hand, "I"m gonna volley a Spell Card at ya...Servers Ace!"

"A Spell Card already??" Jaden blinked, "Man...,"

"That's right...and just like a power serve, this will make you sweat," Harrington inserted the card into his disk, "I pick a card from my hand, and you can guess whether it's a Spell, Trap or Monster. If you guess right, you're fine, but if you guess wrong...then you get served with a stinging 1500 points of damage!"

Jaden grinned, "So all I gotta do is guess? Easy!". He squinted at the card and hummed for a short while, making the nearby onlookers wait impatiently.

Harrington sighed, "Look at you! This is probably the hardest workout you've had all week-long!"

"Shaddup! I'm guessin' now...Spell Card!"

The tennis captain looked at him and grinned slightly, "You sure...? There's still sometime left to change your mind...,"

Jaden grew a bit nervous, "Uh...wait, I change it to Trap card!"

"Hehehehe...," Harrington turned over the card, "Wrooooong. Monster!" he laughed, "Guess we foudn something else you're bad at,"

Jaden's eye twitched as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

"Now, this monster goes away," Harrington tucked the card into his pocket, "Then I'll unleash the force of Servers Ace! Try returning this shot, pal!"

The holo-card on Harrington's field glowed and let out a beam of light that crashed into the ground at Jaden's feet, blowing nearby tennis balls into the stands.

**J: 2500  
H: 4000**

"15-Love...I'll just place this card facedown, and finish the set," Harrington smiled as he inserted another card into his disk.

"Better make this count...," Jaden drew as soon as the blast dissapated and glanced at his hand. _Hmm...decisions, decisions_ he looked at his opponent, _Since he doesn't have any monsters out, I guess I'll go for the direct attack..._

Jaden slapped a card onto his disk, "Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000), attack with Quill Cascade!"

"I don't think so, Birdbrain!" Harrington smirked as Avian's shower of sharp feathers came down on him, "I activate my facedown, Recieve Ace! This card negates your attack, and deals 1500 points of damage!"

_Oh boy_ Jaden covered his head as the Quill Cascade did a U-turn and came back at him.

**J: 1000  
H: 4000**

"That's 30-Love," Harrington took three cards from his deck and put them in the Graveyard, "Of course I gotta pay these cards because I played that card, but it was worth it,"

Jaden drew card, "I'll just throwdown a facedown and end my turn,"

"God, you _are_ lazy!" Harrington said smugly as he drew his card and inserted it into his disk, "That's fine by me, I play Smash Ace! This lets me turn over the card on the top of my deck, and if it's a monster...,"

"I get nailed, right?" Jaden groaned, "C'mon...,"

Harrington pulled out and looked over the card, then held it out, "A monster, _ha_!"

"Aw...Lady Luck strikes again. She hates me!" Jaden tugged at his hair.

"But she _loves_ me, like all the girls do," Harrington pointed to Jaden, "Activate Smash Ace's effect!"

Jaden watched as wide vortex rushed at him from above, swirling faster and faster as it descended on him.

"I don't think so! I activate my facedown Trap Card, Feather Wind!" Jaden grinned as his facedown card was lifted upward.

"What the?!"

Avian flapped his wings hard, and as soon as the Smash Ace energy came into contact, it was sent flying to the sidelines, right into the audience.

"Sorry, but that ace of yours just got knocked out of bounds," Jaden jerked a thumb to the dirt cloud where his friends stood, coughing.

Harrington smiled as he drew, "You win some, you lose some. Sometimes, you gotta take hits to make 'em!" he laughed.

-----

Jordan sweatdropped as the two duelists began a laughing contest, "I don't see what's so funny about this,"

Syrus nodded, "This is pathetic...,"

"It's just said," Jasmine agreed while Alexis nodded in silent agreement.

Mindy giggled, "I can imagine Harrington laughing while I tickle him!" she squealed.

Jordan looked at her horrified, "You...are_ one_ crazy chick...,"

"So?"

"So stay the hell away from me,"

-----

Jaden drew his next card after the idiotic laugh-fest, "Sweet...I play the Spell Card Polymerization! I use this to fuse my Clayman and Burstinatrix into the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500)!"

Cheers from Jordan and Syrus came to Jaden's ears as the Rampart Blaster stood alongside Avian, gun arm at the read.

"Avian, attack Harrington with Electric Orb!" Jaden ordered.

Avian brought his hands together and as soon as a sphere of energy was created, he launched it hard and fast, hitting the target dead on.

**J: 1000  
H: 3000**

"Rampart Blaster, follow-up with Rampart Barrage!"

Harrington lifted his head to see an entire cluster of missles shoot out of the Blaster's gun-arm and fly at him, sending up a cloud of smoke as they crashed into the ground.

**J: 1000  
H: 1000**

Jaden smiled as his monsters came back, "Got anymore cliche's?"

Harrington drew, "I think this time I'll let my card do the talking for me!" he inserted a card into his disk, "I play the card, Deuce!"

"Another Spell card?" Jaden scratched his cheek as the hologram appeared, showing him what type it was.

"That's right, but I can guarantee you that you've never seen one like this before," Harrington looked at the card, "I can only activate this when we both have only 1000 Life Points...," he paused and took a comb and ran it through his hair, "Now, we can only attack with one monster, and Life Points don't matter. You win by being the first to damage the other play twice in a row,"

"So...it's nothing but a head-to-head match now?" Jaden inquired.

Harrington smiled as he slapped a card onto his disk, "Told ya that card will say it all. Now, I summon the Big Server!"

A huge, cyborg-looking tennis player appeared on the field, a tennis racket attached to his right arm and pupil-less eyes staring at Jaden.

Big Server ATK 300

"The reason he's called the Big Server is because his serve is so big...plus, he can attack you directly!" Harrington turned to his monster, "Big Server, nail him with Spiked Serve!" he ordered.

Big Server shouted and tossed a spiked tennis ball into the air before smacking it hard with it's racket, sending it flying into Jaden's Life Points.

**J: 700  
H: 1000**

"That was easy...I just need one more, the duel will be over, and Alexis will be mine," Harrington gloated.

-----

"Down, Jordan, down!"

Alexis sighed and shook her head as Syrus, Mindy and Jasmine all had to hold onto the seething Ra from going on the field and smacking the tennis heir with his own racket.

_This...is so embarassing..._ she thought, peeking out from behind her fingers.

-----

"By the way, Big Server has a special ability. He allows me to take Servers Ace from my deck and add it to my hand," he reached down, searched his deck and placed the card with the others, "You can take one too, but it won't matter...it won't be as good as this one. Now draw your card!"

Jaden rolled his eyes and drew his card, "Ok...,"

Harrington inserted a card into his disk, "Now I'll activate the magic of Servers Ace!" he held up a card, it's back to Jaden, "You remember how this works, don't you? Guess what card I have in my hand, and if you get it wrong, you lose 1500 points, but if you get it right, you're safe,"

_I hope I get this right..._ Jaden looked at the card, "Monster!"

Harrington blinked, then smiled as he turned it over to reveal it _was_ a monster card, "Good guess,"

"Yes!" Jaden pumped an arm, "I'm still in this!"

"Oh yeah?" Harrington inserted yet another card into his disk slot, "Let's see if you're still in it after this. I play Giant Racket and equip it to my Big Server!"

A glowing aura engulfed the Big Server for a few moments and after it went away, everyone saw a very large, red racket on his back.

"Think you're still in it?"

"To win it!" Jaden grinned, "I can take that Big Server down, no problem!"

Harrington chuckled, "Maybe..._not!_ You see, when Giant Racket is equipped to him, Big Server has the ability to decrease the power of an opponent's attack right down to 0!"

"And with Deuce on the field...,"

"He cannot be destroyed," Harrington laughed, "You can't win!"

Jaden growled as he drew his card, "We'll see about that. First, I play the Spell card Diffusion! This allows me to split a Fusion monster back into the monsters that was used to create it. So Rampart Blaster..," he paused as his Blaster dissolved away and both Burstinatrix and Clayman joined Avian on the field, "is gone and I get two more Heroes!"

"I'm starting to see why you're in Slifer...because you don't listen!" Harrington looked at his Spell card, "As long as Deuce is on the field, you can only attack with _one _monster, so it won't matter if you have two or three monsters on the field!"

Jaden smiled, "I'm starting to see why you're a snobby Obelisk...,"

"What did you just say?!"

"You snobs always underestimate your opponents," Jaden slapped a card into a slot, "I play the Spell Card Feather Shot! This card allows Avian to attack once for every monster on my side of the field,"

"When...,"

"When did I get this card?" Jaden finished, "When you used your Big Server's effect. Remember, you said it wouldn't matter what I drew, but it looks like your wrong! Avian...," he looked at his fine feathered Hero, "Attack with Quill Cascade, times three!"

Avian leapt into the air and fired off three seperate waves of sharpened feathers. The first one hit the Big Server and he stayed. The second wave hit him again, destroying the Server. The final one hit Harrington directly, ending the duel.

The snobby Obelisk fell to his knees, sobbing at his loss, "She was my first draft pick, my Marquis girlfriend, my soul mate!"

Jaden sweatdropped as Harrington climbed to his feet and ran out crying for his mother. He shrugged, then walked to Alexis, not really hearing the others cheer for him.

"Alexis, I guess I'm your fiancee now, huh?"

"..."

"One question...what's a fiancee?"

_CRASH!_

Mindy, Jasmine, Syrus and Jordan fell to the floor at the question.

-----

Harrington knelt on a cliffside, crying his eyes out later that day, the sun setting in the distance.

"Alexis!" he screamed, "I'll win you yet!!!".

A loud cracking sound made him turn around to see Jordan standing behind him, cracking his knuckles while an evil grin was plastered on his face.

"Uh...w-wait...,"

_WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP_

A few minutes later, Jordan walked away, slapping his hands together, smiling while Harrington lay on the dirt behind him, leg twitching every few seconds while large lumps occupied his scalp.

"That'll teach him not to move in on Lex," Jordan said to himself, smiling widely as he walked down the path away from the cliff.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: -rises up- wha happened?**

**Yami K: about time you woke up! I had to do this chapter while you were enjoying your nap!**

**Kilnorc: -looks over chapter- ...you didn't put everything in!**

**Yami K: hey, it don't matter, the fans will love it either way, hikari! You want detail, you do it next time!**

**Kilnorc: -glares, then grins- guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see ya'll again. Peace out!**

**Yami K: jaden's an idiot btw**

**Kilnorc: -sighs- i know...i know...**


	26. The Mighty

**The Mighty**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Christina stretched her arms behind her head as she walked alongside her Slifer friends, "Man...that's the last time I fall asleep on my floor. My back is killin' me,"

Jaden grinned, "Lemme guess...you were going over your deck again?"

"How'd you know?" she asked, surprised.

Syrus rolled his eyes, "Cause Jaden does that every now and then, too. Also, if he stays up late, when we try to wake him up, he just talks in his sleep like he's an actual duel,"

"Guys," Siho stopped and nodded to a trio Obelisks nearby, "Somethings up,"

"I heard he picked off another one last night...,"

"Me too! I hear he's huge, and he can't be beaten,"

"I heard that-,"

"What's up guys?" Jaden greeted as they walked up to them.

The Obelisks turned to them, scoffed and walked away.

Jaden blinked, "Is my breath really that bad?" he asked, breathing into his hand and checking. Siho grinned, "Either that or Koala-Boy ripped one pretty good...silent but deadly!"

While Chumley whopped Siho upside the head, Syrus frowned at the trio of higher ranking students, "Lousy Obelisks...talking behind our backs and when we ask what's up, they leave without telling us anything!"

"Duh, guys...," Chumley turned to them, leaving Siho rubbing his skull, "They're talking about the Duel Giant!"

"Duel Giant?" Jaden and Christina asked in unison.

Chumley nodded, "This really tough duelist that's taking down all the Obelisks he challenges and the scary thing is, he only comes out at midnight,"

"Wait a minute," Syrus snapped his fingers, "I've heard about this guy! He takes their cards too,"

Christina eyed Siho who glared back at her.

"Oh, shaddup Chrissy, I'm no giant and you know it!"

"But ya do have that tendency...,"

"SHADDUP!

"Anyway, he only plays using an Ante rule," Chumley continued, "So if you duel him and lose, you gotta turn over your best card!"

"Ain't that illegal?" Christina inquired.

Chumley nodded, "Yeah. People say he duels in disguise because of that rule, wearing the blue blazers of the Obelisks he's beaten!"

Christina looked at Siho who looked back at her.

"Sounds tough,"

"Sounds interesting,"

"Sounds like a mystery, Shaggy,"

"Sounds like fun, Scooby,"

Syrus was about to ask them why the two of them were going through their weird moments this early in the day, when they all heard a familiar voice up ahead.

"Oh Jaden, m'boy!"

Everyone looked ahead to see Dr Crowler walking up to them, beaming.

"He's being nice, something's wrong," Syrus backed away a few inches.

Crowler stopped a couple of feet from the group of reds, still smiling, "Jaden, how would you like to have no homework for the rest of the year?"

Christina and Siho rose to their full heights, "No homework?!" they asked together.

Crowler leaned in, "You, Syrus, Christina and Siho as well, Jaden...all you have to do is help me. What do you say?"

Jaden grinned, "Sure, I'll help ya, Doc,"

"Whoa, wait, shouldn't we wait and see what he wants you to help him with?" Syrus whispered.

Crowler chuckled, "Don't worry, Jaden. All you have to do for me, is to go on a field trip,"

Again, Jaden grinned, "I love field trips, where's it taking us?"

"Oh...just all around campus. I just need you to find and duel the fellow who's having all these illegal matches," Crowler explained, "I believe you might've heard of him, the Duel Giant?"

"The guy who's kicking the asses of everyone in your dorm?" Siho cracked, putting his arms behind his head, grinning, "_That_ Duel Giant?"

Crowler pulled back, a look of distaste on his face at the remark, "I...I don't keep track of such things," he huffed as he started walking by them, "Good luck, Jaden!"

As the Head of Obelisk Blue walked off, Jaden clapped his hands, "Alright, let's go find us that Duel Giant!"

"Uh...Jaden," Syrus tugged on his friends sleeve, "Is it too late to say this is a bad idea?"

"Yeah, doesn't Crowler hate you?" Chumley added.

"Not to mention, _all_ Slifers?" Christina threw in.

Jaden shrugged, "He may not like us, but c'mon, how can I throw away no homework, a field trip, and a big duel?"

"By saying no?" Syrus suggested.

"Yeah...don't you even know how to _say_ no?" Chumley asked.

"Yes," Jaden replied.

-Later that day...-

Syrus shook his head as he and his friends sat down in a dueling arena while a Ra dueled an Obelisk, "Jaden, how are we supposed to find the Duel Giant if we keep taking breaks like this? This is like, the fifth one!"

"I'm not complaining," Christina propped her feet up on the seat in front of her, "Sorta relaxin' day, a secret mission, plus," she nodded to the duel in front of them, "we get to see who wins outta this,"

The Obelisk had 200 Life Points, and a Marauding Captain (1200/400) on the field in Attack Mode, while the Ra Yellow, a rather short, nervous looking boy with long green hair had 300 Life Points and a Mad Sword Beast (1400/1200) in Attack Mode as well.

The Ra boy looked at his hand, "Uh...lessee,"

Jaden leaned forward, he was able to see the cards in the boys hand. He squinted and scanned the hand, "He's got Earthquake! He can win this duel...all he needs to do is throw it down,"

_C'mon Brier _the Ra looked up from his hand, _You got this guy right where you want him. Just take him down and bring it home. Just forget that everyone is watching you..._ he looked at his hand _Now, should I use Earthquake to switch his Marauding Captain into Defense Mode, or just attack?_

"Just make a damn move already!" his opponent yelled, "I'd like to get home sometime _this_ school year!"

The Ra, Brier, shrank at the shout.

His opponent wasn't the only one who was in the teasing mood. He had three fellow Obelisks on the sidelines

"What's the matter, shortstack, can't see over the cards?"

"Looks like the little baby's gonna cry...wanna call your mom?"

Brier tried to ignore those words as he looked over his hand, "Eenie, meenie...,"

"Miney, moe!" his opponent finished angrily, "Make a move, you're goin' way too slow!"

Cringing, Brier shut his eyes, "Fine! I'll...I'll attack with my Mad Sword Beast!" he yelled.

With a roar, the Dinosaur-Type monster charged fullspeed at the opposing monster.

The Obelisk smiled, "I activate my facedown card! It's called Reinforcements and it gives me 500 Attack Points and I think I'll give them to Marauding Captain!"

Maruading Captain (1700/400)

The Captain ran towards the Mad Sword-Beast and sliced it deep, blowing it to pieces, and finishing off Brier's Life Points.

Jaden sighed in disappointment as the duel finished, "He was so close...,"

"A classic case of stage fright,"

Everyone turned to see Bastion standing nearby, hands on his hips.

"The boy has tremendous skill, but he needs to get over the fear of dueling in public," the Ra continued, "If he could handle that problem, he would be a great duelist,"

Jaden hummed and looked back to see Brier walk off the platform, looking very angry while the Obelisk and his friends jeered and laughed. Something about that look on the short boy's face made him shiver.

A light cooing sound made itself known, then Winged Kuriboh came to his partner's side. Jaden looked at Kuriboh and nodded, _I felt that too... _he said mentally.

"So what's the crew up to these days?"

Syrus looked at Bastion, "We're looking for a giant,"

"A giant?" Bastion raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the one that's been beating all the Obelisks," Christina explained, cracking her knuckles, "Heard he was tough so we're looking for him,"

Bastion frowned, "Yes, I've heard of this titan...from what I hear, he's someone you wouldn't want to make angry,"

"Uh...speaking of giants...," Siho pointed ahead towards one of the exits, "Check it out!"

Everyone followed his finger to see Brier walking up to a very large, rather fat Ra who was holding his arms out to him, as if to comfort him. The man was almost as tall as the ceiling and almost a third wide of the hallway.

"Wow...that guy's huge!" Syrus gasped.

Bastion chuckled, "Who, Beauregard? Please, he's no Duel Giant,"

"What are you talking about? He's gigantic!" Syrus pointed out.

Again, Bastion laughed, "That's true, but he's no duelist, Syrus. He's here at the Academy because he's studying to be a game designer. I know him...he can _hardly_ duel,"

"Well the same goes for Syrus, but the runt still plays," Siho cracked.

-----

Brier and Beauregard walked down the hallway, leaving the arena behind them. The larger Ra looked at Brier, who looked rather upset that he had lost his duel to his fear of others watching him. He was about to say something comforting when...

"Well looky here!"

The Obelisk Brier dueled, along with his three friends, approached them.

He looked Beauregard over, "_Someone_'s exceeding this hall's weight limit!"

The bigger Ra groaned, looking hurt at the comment. Wasn't his fault he was like that, but that didn't stop the higher-up students from making fun of him for it...or making fun of Brier because of his height.

"Hey, are you catching my drift _Wide-Load_?" the Obelisk snapped, raising a fist, "You are in my way!"

Unsure of what to say or do, Beauregard looked down at Brier who lowered his head and tugged his sleeve before backing towards the hall. Beauregard nodded and stepped out of the way, allowing the snobbish Obelisks to pass them by, laughing as they went.

Brier grit his teeth, angry at the way they were treated and was about to cry when he heard footsteps coming back to them.

"Hey, hold up!"

The two Ra's turned to see Jaden and the others running up to them. Brier backed away, as if to hide himself from them.

Jaden stopped a short ways from them, looking up at Beauregard, "Sorry, but I didn't feel like waiting 'til midnight to duel you,"

Beauregard's face went from calm to surprise while Brier stepped up, "And what's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means I know _you're_ the Duel Giant," Jaden explained, still looking at Beauregard, "So let's throwdown right now!"

Brier scoffed and took Beauregard's hand, turning around, "There's no such thing as a Duel Giant...c'mon Beauregard,"

Jaden watched as Brier led the bigger male away by the hand, as if he leading a nervous little kid, "No?" he called.

"No!" Brier yelled back.

"_No...?_"

"NO!"

Chumley sighed as the Ra's walked away, then looked at Jaden, "I don't think that was the Duel Giant, Jaden...,"

"Yeah," Syrus nodded, "Didn't you hear what Bastion said? He's only here to be a game designer, and he doesn't duel at all,"

"Seriously, this doesn't make sense," Christina added, before hopping onto Siho's back, "Piggyback!"

While Siho tried to throw off his best friend, Jaden glanced at the see-through form of Winged Kuriboh _They're right...it doesn't make sense. At least not yet_...

-----

"So the way I see it, you tackle him and beat him to a pulp, while I sit back and loot the cards for myself,"

Christina raised an eyebrow at Siho as they and Jaden, along with Chumley and Syrus hid behind a large stone in the courtyard late that same night, "How about _no_?"

Syrus looked at Jaden, "You really think the Giant will come out tonight?" he whispered fearfully.

"Shh..," Jaden held a finger to his lips, "Not if we keep blabbing!"

Chumley leaned in, "Look, there's two things I do with my mouth, ok? Talk and eat, so either gimme a grilled cheese sandwich or-,"

At that moment, a scream echoed through the air.

Jaden leapt to his feet, "It's him! Let's go guys!" he yelled, taking off full speed to the forest.

After some minutes of hard running, and catching up for some Slifers, the gang came across an Obelisk Blue student, kneeling on the ground holding back tears, his deck scattered everywhere around him.

"Which way did he go?" Jaden demanded, skidding to a stop.

The Obelisk looked up and pointed ahead, "That way...,"

As Jaden ran off again, his friends following, Chumley looked back at the defeated Obelisk.

"That guy's from the Arena!"

The group of five kept running until Jaden caught sight of something large just ahead of them, a few yards away.

"HOLD IT!"

The large thing stopped walking and turned around, letting the Slifers get a good look at it. It was a huge figure, with numerous Obelisk blazers on it's torso, some of them covering it's face. A Duel Disk was on it's arm, just as Jaden's was on his own.

"Caught ya, big guy," Jaden panted.

Syrus gulped at the sight of the Duel Giant, "Maybe not Jaden...c'mon, who in their right mind chases a giant?!"

"Jack?" Siho thought aloud.

"King David?" Christina offered.

Jaden grinned, "The guy who chases a Giant is the one who's gonna duel him," he pointed to the Duel Giant, "So waddya say we get this started, big guy?"

With a hoot, Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Jaden's head. The Slifer glanced at his friend, "You sure?" he whispered. Another hoot and Jaden nodded, "Alright, if you say so. We're in this together now,"

He turned back to the Duel Giant, "How about this? Since I know you only play using an Ante rule, how's about I put _this _card up?" he challenged, holding up Winged Kuriboh's card.

"...so be it, duelist," the Giant agreed.

Both Jaden and the Giant turned on their Duel Disks and inserted their decks in sync.

**G: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Get your game on!"

"If you insist!" the Giant drew his card and looked at it, "I summon Giant Orc (2200/0) in Attack Mode!"

A huge, green-skinned, pig-faced monster carrying a giant bone appeared, growling. Syrus whimpered, "Aw man...,"

Christina reached over and picked Syrus up off the ground, holding him out to the Giant Orc, "Take the Halfling, spare us minion of Sauron!!"

Siho covered his face with his hand and shook his head slowly as he backed away from his fellow Slifer, "I don't know you, I don't know you, I don't know you...,"

While Syrus wiggled out of Christina's grip, Jaden smiled at the Giant, "First move, first mistake. See, when Orc attacks, he's automatically switched to Defense Mode. Now, this wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't for him having 0 Defense Points,"

"Just make your move...," the Giant hissed.

"With pleasure!" Jaden drew his card and as soon as he did, he heard Kuriboh's coo. He glanced down at his friend's card in his hand, "You wanna come out and play? Alright, sounds good...," he looked up from his hand, slapping the card onto his disk, "I summon Winged Kuriboh (300/200) in Defense Mode!"

The adorable furball with wings appeared, wings and claws pulled in defensively.

"Your turn, big guy,"

"And it will be one to remember!" the Giant drew his card, "Now, I'll attack with Giant Orc! Bone Basher!"

The huge creature roared and brought down it's might bone club onto Kuriboh's little head, smashing it to pieces and sending it to the Graveyard.

Jaden coughed as the smoke from the impact wafted around, "Hope that was worth it, because now, since you attacked with him, your Orc changes his battle mode from offense to defense...not that he has any,"

"Not that he needs any...," the Giant chuckled, "I summon Second Goblin (100/100)!" he declared, inserting the card into the slot underneath the Giant Orc.

Syrus blinked, "That's a monster card, but he's treating it as a Spell card?" he asked confused.

"Must be a Union monster...," Christina said thoughtfully.

"Union what?" Syrus looked at her.

"Union monster. It's like those Dragon Cannon monsters Chazz used against Jaden. You see, Union monsters can be used as Equip cards to boost a monsters ATK and DEF points, or give them a nice effect, but they can only be treated as Equip cards once per turn. On every other turn, you can use it as an Equip, or just a normal monster," she explained.

Siho looked at her surprised, "How the _hell_ did you know that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Christina smiled.

The Giant chuckled, "The little girl knows her stuff. As an Equip card, Second Goblin can be used to switch my Orc from defense," he paused as his Giant Orc rose to full height from his kneeling position, "To offense!"

Syrus gulped, "Oh boy...,"

"What's offensive is his face," Chumley muttered, earning surprised looks from the others in the sidelines.

Jaden grinned, "Yeah, can't you wrap a couple of blazers around his face?" Jaden drew his card, "But if you won't do something, I guess I will...," he looked at his hand, "I play the Spell Card Polymerization! I'll use this card to fuse my Elemental Hero Clayman and my Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to summon the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500) in Defense Mode!"

Rampart Blaster appeared, kneeling on one knee, gun-arm aimed and shield held up protectively.

"But just because she's in Defense Mode, doesn't mean I can't use her Special Ability! It blasts your Life Points with half of her Attack Points!"

The Fusion monster let loose a barrage of missles that landed at the Giants feet, sending up a shockwave as soon as the missles exploded. Not only did the attack knock back some points, but it also blew away the ensemble of blue blazers the Giant wore around him.

Jaden smiled, "Thought so...,"

"It's Beauregard!" Syrus and Christina gasped.

"I thought he couldn't duel?" Chumley asked, confused at what he was seeing.

Beauregard, the huge Ra yellow from the arena earlier that day, looked fearful and turned his head slightly, "What should I do?".

"You can stop the charade," Jaden offered and pointed to a nearby rock, "How's about the _real_ Duel Giant comes out?"

Everyone watched as Brier, the shorter Ra, jumped up from behind the rock, a headset walkie talkie on his head.

"It was _him_?" Chumley wondered aloud.

"Dude...," Siho breathed.

"Buy why?" Syrus asked.

Brier looked at Jaden hard, "How did you know?"

"Back at the Arena, I felt how mad you were at those Obelisks, and when I saw your big friend here," he pointed to Beauregard, "It sorta came together," he explained.

"But I _lost_ that duel," Brier reminded him, "What made you think _I_ could be the Duel Giant?".

"Because I heard you were a great duelist, only problem was you have stage fright...which cleared up why the Duel Giant only came out and dueled at night," Jaden shrugged, "Wasn't that hard to figure out,".

Syrus sighed, "Well, now that we got all this sorted out, it's over,"

"What do you mean 'over'?! _Nothing's_ over!" Brier screamed, making Syrus shrink back, "I won't go back being 'Little Brier' again! People make fun of my height every single day! They always call me short, a shrimp, and I'm tired of it! Don't you see, that's why I get nervous and can't concentrate!".

He reached over and placed his hand on his large friend's shoulder, "Then I met Beauregard...they made fun of him too. From that moment, we became friends and made a promise that we'd get back at those who mocked us, big time!"

-Flashback-

_In a dimly lit room one night, both Brier and Beauregard were on the floor looking over their decks._

_"Also, we'll play by the Ante rule, so when we beat those guys, they'll have to give us their best card!" Brier smiled, "That'll show 'em not to pick on people who're different,"_

_"But...," Beauregard looked at him worriedly, "What if we get caught?"_

_Brier smiled slyly, "Just leave it to me,"_

-End Flashback-

"It's just like Freak the Mighty," Christina nodded, "Interesting,"

"Who the What, now?" Syrus looked at her again.

"Freak the Mighty. It's the story about two boys who were pretty much outcasts. One boy was small, and couldn't walk on his own without help, but he was very smart. The other boy was big and strong, but somewhat slow and feared because of his size. Seperate, they were two people who were shunned and made fun of. But together, with the smart boy on the larger boy's shoulders, they became a perfect being. The small boy as the brain and the large boy as the body, working together in harmony,"

Siho, Chumley, Syrus and Jaden turned and stared at her in great surprise.

Christina noticed this and looked at them, "What?"

"Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Christina?" Siho demanded.

Christina just waved him off as Jaden turned back to Beauregard and Brier.

"Well, what are you gonna do now?" he asked, "We know who you guys are, and pretty soon, everyone will know as well...even Crowler. Unless...,"

Brier frowned, "Unless _what_?"

"Unless we finish this duel, right now, out in the open!" Jaden smiled widely.

Brier grit his teeth, "I guess you leave us no choice...," he looked at his friend, "Let's do this!"

Beauregard nodded, "Yeah!".

**BB: 3000  
J: 4000**

"Draw Beauregard!"

As the big Ra drew, Brier looked over his shoulder, looking at the hand, "I summon Goblin King (0/0) in Attack Mode!". As soon as Beauregard slapped the card do, a small green, big headed goblin appeared wearing a long red robe and crown.

Jaden blinked at the creature, "0 Attack Points?"

"Not for long!" Brier smiled, "For every Warrior monster I send to the Graveyard from my hand, I can summon a Half-Goblin (500/500)!".

After discarding two cards from the hand, Beauregard placed two cards on the field in Defense Mode. Between the Orc and the King, two identical goblins in turban-like hats appeared.

"Now I play Goblin King's Special Ability! He gains 1000 Attack and Defense Points for every Fiend monster I have on the field...and guess what? I have three!"

Goblin King (3000/3000)

"What the?!" Jaden stared at the growing Goblin, "3000 points?"

"Goblin King, attack Rampart Blaster!" Brier ordered.

With a shriek, the Goblin King ran over and punched through the Elemental Hero's shield, blowing her to pieces.

"Giant Orc, attack Jaden directly!"

Jaden groaned as the Giant Orc raised it's bone club and brought it down onto his head, knocking a large chunk of points away.

**BB: 3000  
J: 1800**

"And in case you forgot, Jaden...," Brier smiled, "Your Winged Kuriboh is still up for grabs! You're gonna lose this duel, and that card is gonna be all mine,"

Jaden stood up after the attack, noticing the Giant Orc staying in Attack Mode thanks to Second Goblin, "You want him...come and get him!" he drew his card, "I play the Spell card Pot of Greed!" he paused and drew two new cards from his deck, "Now I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in Attack Mode!"

Siho shook his head as the blue and gold armored warrior came to the field, electricity crackling around him, "I saw that coming...,"

"Aw be nice, Siho," Christina nudged him, "You keep playing the same monsters over and over in our duels...,"

"Now, as if he didn't have enough zap as it is, I equip Sparkman with Spark Blaster!" Jaden watched as the futuristic pistol appeared in his Hero's hand, "If you don't know how it works, lemme fill ya in. I got three shots in the blaster, for each one, I can change the Battle Position of a monster on the field,"

Brier watched in shock as Sparkman fired off all three rounds, hitting his Half-Goblins and his Giant Orc. The Orc went into Defense, despite his Second Goblin, while the Half-Goblins went into Attack Mode.

"Oh no...!"

"Oh yeah!" Jaden held up a card, "Next, I play The Warrior Returning Alive! This lets me bring back a Warrior-type monster from my graveyard to my hand and I choose Clayman (800/2000)," he paused and took the card from his slot, "Next, I play Polymerization to fuse both Clayman and Sparkman to create the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!"

Brier and Beauregard stepped back as the huge, heavily armored Hero descended from the sky, lightning crackling around it's palms.

"He's a _real_ giant!" Jaden continued, "I'm using his Special Ability! He can wipe out a monster on your side of the field, as long as it's Attack Points are lower than his own...like your Giant Orc for example,"

The Giant Orc was struck down with a blast from Thunder Giant's palm, creating an explosion that sent out a cloud of smoke throughout the clearing.

"Next, he can use his normal attack, so I'll use it on your Half-Goblin!"

**BB: 1100  
J: 1800**

"So what?" Brier barked, "I still got Life Points left!"

Jaden grinned, "Not after this you won't," he held up a card, "I activate the power of Diffusion! This splits up my monster back into two more monsters!" he explained as Sparkman and Clayman appeared after splitting apart from Thunder Giant, "That means two more attacks! Clayman's...,"

The huge brown Hero ran and tackled the second Half-Goblin, sending it to the Graveyard.

**BB: 800  
J: 1800**

"Now it's Sparkman's turn! Attack Goblin King!"

Both Beauregard and Brier watched helplessly as Sparkman's shock-filled fist connected with Goblin King's head, blowing it away completely, the force sending both of the Ra's flying to the ground.

**BB: 0  
J: 1800**

The two Ra's picked themselves up as Jaden's friends congratulated him on the duel. Brier lowered his head, "They beat us, Beauregard...we're finished,".

"Not _us_," Beauregard looked at Jaden, looking somber, "Please, just turn _me_ in, forget Brier!" he pleaded.

Brier looked at his friend, "Huh??"

The larger duelist looked down at his companion, "I've always been alone and I'm not gonna let them expel you for showing me what it's like to have a friend. After all, didn't we promise that we'd stand up for each other?"

"But-,"

"You're the best duelist I've ever seen, Brier!" his friend interrupted, "There's no way I'll let them kick you outta here!".

"But what about your dream, the one of you being a game designer?"

Beauregard smiled slightly and ruffled Brier's hair, "Not _all_ dreams come true,"

Brier felt his eyes fill with tears, "Beauregard...,"

"Hold it! Hold _everything_!"

Both Ra's turned to see Jaden and the others standing nearby now, "Huh?"

Jaden shook his head, "I'm not gonna turn either of you in. I know what it's like, to be made fun of. Everyone goes through that at one point in their life," he gave them a thumbs up, "We're cool...,"

Brier blinked, "W-what?"

"I only said I'd turn you in so you would come out, duel me in the open, and you did!" he explained with a wink, "That was a close duel, Brier...you almost had me there!"

Brier looked at him for a few moments, then stood up, "I guess you're right. I was able to duel in front of people, Jaden..maybe I can do it again,"

"Of course you can," Jaden nodded, "I just hope it's not against me," he cracked.

Brier laughed as Beauregard rose to his full height, a large smile on his broad face.

Jaden looked around, then at the Ra's, "Now get outta here! You don't want Crowler comin' by and catching ya, right?"

Both Ra's nodded and took off into the forest, Brier having a big lead ahead of Beauregard. Syrus looked at Jaden, "There is _one_ problem to this, Jaden...,"

The Slifer looked back at his best friend, "What's that?"

-----

The problem Syrus was talking about...was that because Jaden had let the Duel Giant go, they all had to catch up on the homework they missed, and were assigned extra homework by Crowler, who didn't take the news of the Giant very well.

"So, let me get this straight," Crowler leaned in, hands on Jaden's desk, looking straight at the Slifer, "You found the Duel Giant, beat him...then he somehow managed to _escape_?"

Jaden nodded as he sped through the papers he was given, "That's what happened, Teach. Last time I saw him, I think he was headed up a beanstalk or something,"

Christina held back a giggle while Siho shook his head at the joke.

Luckily, Crowler was too busy giving the heat on Jaden to notice them as they did their work, "You also say that you _didn't_ duel using the illegal Ante rule, but the other Obelisks _did_?"

Jaden looked up from his work briefly, "Did they? I heard that they all lost their cards...temporarily?"

Crowler raised an eyebrow, but sighed. He wasn't going to get anything else from these Slifer Slackers.

"So you find the Duel Giant and lost him, the cards were lost but now they're found, and-,"

"I didn't have homework and now I do...," Jaden interrupted.

"Just keep writing!" Crowler snapped, "

Meanwhile, Beauregard and Brier stood around the courtyard, listening to the news that was buzzing around the area.

"Yeah, I found my rare card this morning too...,"

"I found mine at my doorstep!"

"Get this, _mine_ was in my deck!"

The two Ra's looked at each other and smiled. They were different now...stronger than before. They were friends and they made one hell of a team. They gave back the cards they had stolen from the Obelisks and decided they wouldn't listen to the hurtful things people said about them.

They weren't a big fat guy and a short scaredy-cat.

No, they won't those two students who wanted revenge. They were the Mighty.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: whew..there's that one done. hope you guys liked it!**

**BTW...for those who have read the book, or seen the movie, you must admit there is a BIG similarity between those boys in that and the relationship between Brier and Beauregard.**

**JA NE!**


	27. The Bandit Returns

**The Bandit Returns**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_"Hello there, my little one. Come over here...,"_

_Siho clutched his teddy bear and walked over to a figure in the shadows of the corner of his bedroom._

_The figure reached down and patted his head, "Little one, what do you want to be when you grow up?"_

_"...happy,"_

_"Happy?" the figure scoffed lightly, "In order to be happy, you'll have to be strong and clever in order to seize what you want in life, Little One. Do you know how to do this?"_

_"No...,"_

_The figure chuckled, "Do not worry, Little One...I have years to educate you,"_

_"Siho, what are you doing out of the bed?"_

_Siho turned around to see his mother, a woman with short black hair and blue eyes standing in the doorway to his room, her robe cinhed at the waist and a tired look in her eyes._

_She yawned, "Who are you talking to?"_

_Siho turned back to the corner...the figure was gone. He turned back and walked over to his mother, "No one mommy...I just had a bad dream,"._

_His mother couldn't help but smile as she picked him up and carried him over to his bed. She set him down and put the covers to his chin, making sure the teddy bear was in his arms._

_"No more getting up in the middle of the night, sweety," she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, "You need your sleep, just like mommy and daddy,"._

_He nodded and she rose from the matterss, heading back to the door._

_"Mommy?" Siho sat up._

_She stopped and turned, "Yes, baby?"_

_"Is the Boogeyman real?"_

_"No honey, the Boogeyman isn't real...now go to sleep,"_

_His mother left his bedroom and Siho curled up underneath his thick comforter blanket, "Stay with me, Teddy," he whispered to his bear, "I don't wanna be alone tonight,"._

_A soft chuckle came through the other side of the blanket, "Little One...you will never be alone,"_

Siho snapped awake and sat up quickly, panting. He groaned and fell back onto his pillow, feeling the cold sweat that collected around his head during the dream.

"What the hell was _that_ about?"

-----

Christina sighed as she and Kairi sat in the bleachers of the arena, catching a duel Jordan was having against an Obelisk Blue student with messy blond hair and sunglasses.

"Why is it, I can't beat him?" she murmured, looking at Jordan and his monsters, "I mean...I've seen his monsters, why do I keep getting my ass handed to me by him?".

Kairi glanced at her roommate, "First off, that sounded a _little _wrong, and secondly, it's probably because of your deck, you keep changing it! I mean, do you even _have_ the cards you used when you first came here?"

"Of course I do!" Christina snapped, "I got my Amazons and my Hayabusa Knight!"

"Well, maybe you should make your deck to work around those. Like new traps and new spells, or even new monsters that are intune with them," Kairi suggested.

"But I got-,"

A loud explosion interrupted Christina as Jordan's Mobile Fortress pounded another Machine King into a cloud of dust and metal junk.

Cheers echoed through the arena as Jordan deactivated his Duel Disk and walked over to his opponent, hand outstretched, "Good duel, man...rematch sometime?"

His opponent glared at him and batted his hand away, "You better just stay away from me shortstuff," he growled before brushing past him and walking off the platform. Jordan caught himself before hitting the platform and watched his opponent go.

"Jeez...dude, take a chill pill, just a game," he muttered, rubbing his head _What's his problem?_

-----

Kairi entered her dorm room, hands going back and forth on the towel over head, having just got out of the shower. She shook her head, letting her blonde locks throw water onto nearby furniture, then headed to the fridge.

As soon as she opened it up, she screamed. Christina had removed the trays from the appliance and was now somehow wedged into the space.

Kairi tilted her head, curious as to how her roommate did that, but decided not to ask. She bent down to her level and propped her head on her hands, "Christina...get outta the fridge, you're gonna freeze if you stay there overnight,"

"There is no Christina, there is only Zuul...,"

Her roommate rolled her eyes and reached in, grabbing her hands, "That's it, I'm cutting back your movie time,"

"Why...?" Chrissy whined as she struggled to get herself out of the fridge.

"Look, I love movies just as much as anybody, but at least _I'm_ not the one going around quoting them while stuck in a fridge, now c'mon!"

After about ten minutes of heaving, Christina practically flew out of the fridge and landed ontop of Kairi. The brunette shook her head and looked down at her pinned roommate, "Thanks...,"

"No problem," Kairi gasped, "Now could you please get offa me?"

Christina rolled off, "Sorry about that, couldn't resist,".

Kairi groaned as she sat up, rubbing her head, "No problem...so, you get a chance to work on that deck yet?".

"Yeah...but I still need to test it out. I sent Jordan a message a little bit ago telling him to meet me over in the main arena before it closes for curfew," she looked down at her watch and yelped, "CRAP I'M LATE!"

She grabbed her blazer and her disk, "Feel free to come on, but I ain't waiting for ya," she managed to say before dashing off out of the room. Kairi looked around and sighed, "I got nothing else to do...,"

-----

Christina, with Kairi following close behind, entered the main arena as the sun began to set.

"Yo, Rhodes! I'm here, let's do this!" Christina called out, looking around, "I'm ready to kick your ass!"

Kairi looked to the side and gasped, "I...think someone beat you to it,"

"Huh?" Christina turned and her eyes widened at what she saw. Jordan was slumped against the arena walls, his deck scattered everywhere. But he wasn't alone. The blonde Obelisk male from the duel earlier that day was standing over him, tucking something into his pocket.

"Hey!" the two of them ran over to the Obelisk, "What the hell's going on?!"

The Obelisk turned and Christina then noticed that he looked different up close. From the bleachers, he looked like an average duelist, but from what she saw _now_, he was taller than her, and much more muscular.

He looked them over, "Pfft...just some Slifer chicks," he shook his head, "Here I thought I had something to worry about," he patted his pocket and started to walk by them, "Well I got my prize, the pain in the ass is down for the count...it's a good day,".

Christina ran past him and blocked his path, "What the hell did you do?!" she demanded.

The boy looked down at her and leaned in, "If you must know, I gave the twerp what he had coming to him! He goes around, with the name of Rhodes and thinks he's one of the best duelists just because of it," he shrugged smirking, "I just took him down a few pegs,".

"Jordan's not like that at all!" she hissed, hands balling into fists, "He doesn't think he's the best duelists...he just a normal kid wanting to get better at the game,".

"Well," the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin group of cards, "He'll just have to work harder now. Without his Machine Kings and his Gadgets, that kid is about as good as a Slifer,"

"You wanna bet?"

The Obelisk raised an eyebrow, "Say what?"

"I said...do you wanna bet?" Christina held up her Duel Disk, "I'll duel you right now for those cards, big boy...if you win, then you can leave without worrying about being reported,"

Kairi stared at her, "Christina...the guys an Obelisk, you have a bad enough time beating _him_!" she pointed to the unconcious Ra, "Just let him go!"

"No way," Christina shook her head, "Not only did this jerk mugged him, he stole his cards. I can't forgive anyone who commits _that_ crime,"

_Now I kinda know how it was between Bastion and Chazz _she thought as the Obelisk seemed to think it over.

"Well, we gonna duel or are ya chicken?" she taunted.

The Obelisk growled and walked over to Jordan. He reached down and practically tore the Duel Disk off his arm, then headed to the platform, "I'm wasting my time, but if it'll get you Slifer's off my back...,".

Christina jumped onto the platform, her Duel Disk and deck at the ready. She looked at the Obelisk, "Mind telling me your name before we start?".

"Name's Howard...now let's get this over with!"

**H: 4000  
C: 4000**

"You're gonna wish you never hurt a friend of mine," Christina hissed, drawing her card, "I summon Amazoness Paladin (1700/300) in attack mode, then I'll place two cards facedown," she watched as her warrior female came to the field, blade gleaming in the light.

Howard scoffed, "You call that a move?" he drew, "How's this? I summon Gradius (1200/800) in Attack Mode, but before it attacks, I'll add some firepower to it!" he inserted at least three cards into his Disk, "I play the Equip cards Machine Conversion Factory, Cyclon Laser and 7 Completed! These three cards boost up Gradius' power by a grand total of 1300 points!"

Gradius (2500/800)

Christina stared, "Jeez...talk about a flashback. I remember taking this thing down in my entrance exams, but it wasn't boosted this much,"

Howard grinned as he placed a fifth card onto his disk, "Wait til you see this. I Special Summon Gradius's Option (?/?)! I can only summon it when Gradius is on the field beforehand, and when it spawns, it gains the same amount of attack and defense points as it's counterpart!"

Gradius (2500/1100)  
Gradius's Option (2500/1100)

"Why did it go up in Defense Points?" Christina asked, confused.

Howard grinned, "That's the effect of Machine Conversion Factory. While 7 Completed and Cyclon Laser boost it's power, the third spell card can boost Gradius' Defense! Now, Gradius, attack with Proton Laser! Destroy Amazoness Paladin!"

_Damn, was hoping to use this later on..._ Christina pushed a button her disk, "I activate my facedown Trap Card, Amazoness Archers! I can only activate this when your monster attacks my own! It powers down your monster by 500 points,"

Gradius (2000/800)

"So what, still enough to destroy your Paladin!"

Christina watched as her Paladin was sliced and diced by the laser, "True, but less damage to me!"

**H: 4000  
C: 3700**

"Not for long, Gradius number two, attack her directly with Proton Laser!"

**H: 4000  
C: 1200**

Christina winced as the laser cut through her, "Last time that'll happen...you can count on that," she hissed as she drew her card, "I play Pot of Greed!" she drew two more cards, "I place one card facedown, then I play the Spell card...Shield & Sword!"

Howard lowered his shades, "Shield & Sword?!"

-Flashback-

_"Shield & Sword...Shield & Sword...,"_

_Howard waved his hand in front of the mumbling man's face, "Still outta it, huh?"_

_A woman walked up to them, a clipboard in her hand, "I'm afraid so...it's been three weeks since we found him running around screaming a warehouse was haunted, and ever since he keeps mumbling different Duel Monsters cards,"_

_She looked at Howard, "Are you family?"_

_"Yeah...,"_

-End Flashback-

Christina's eye twitched, "Snap out of dreamland, Blue Boy! As I was saying," she inserted the card into a slot, "Shield & Sword has the effect to switch the Defense and Attack points of all monsters on the field. Meaning your Gradius' aren't as strong anymore!"

Gradius (1100/2500)  
Gradius' Option (1100/2500)

"Now, I summon Dark Blade (1800/1500) and to take a page from a big friend of mine," she held up a card, "I play Pitch-Dark Dragon (900/600) as an Equip card...which is legal because it's a Union monster!" she inserted the monster card into the slot beneath Dark Blade, "With that as an Equip card, it's effect boosts Dark Blade's power by 400 points!"

Dark Blade (2200/1900)

The dark armored warrior soon had a black scaled dragon on it's sword, it's tail wrapping around the hilt of the blade.

"Dark Blade, attack Gradius number one!"

Dark Blade pulled back it's arm and threw it's dragon-blade as hard as it could towards Gradius. Howard looked away as the blade pierced Gradius' heavily armored shell, blowing it to pieces.

Christina pumped her arm, "Two in one shot!"

"What do you mean?" Howard looked at his field and watched in horror as Gradius' Option fell to the ground, a useless pile of junk, "What the hell did you do? You cheated!"

The girl Slifer shook her head, "Nope...that's the effect of Gradius' Option. If the original Gradius that it copied is destroyed or removed from the field, Option is destroyed as well. So now," she pointed at Howard, "You're completely defenseless!"

**H: 2900  
C: 1200**

Howard drew his card, "Not for long...," he looked up smirking, "Check it out. First, I place one card facedown on the field, then I play Gadget Combination!"

Christina's eyes widened, "That's Jordan's card!"

"Damn straight it is!" Howard laughed as he inserted it into his disk, "As well as these cards. I use the effect of Gadget Combination to summon Red Gadget (1300/1500), Yellow Gadget (1200/1200), and Green Gadget (1400/600)!"

The Slifer girl groaned as the three gadgets appeared on the field, "Great...here we go again!" she looked at Howard, "Luckily for me, that effect costs you 1000 Life Points, not to mention that none of these things are as strong as my monster!"

**H: 1900  
C: 1200**

"_They_ don't have to be," Howard pushed his shades up, "I sacrifice Red Gadget and Green Gadget to summon...Launcher Spider (2200/2500)!"

Both Gadgets disappeared and a clankering metal arachnid landed in their place, a large rack of rockets popping out of it's back.

"Daaaaamn...," Christina whistled, "Not bad,"

"Neither is his attack...Launcher Spider, attack with Arachnid Assault!" Howard ordered.

The huge metal arachnid let loose a large array of missles that flew at the Dark Blade rapidly.

"I don't think so!" Christina pressed another button, "I'm glad I saved _this_ one...I activate my facedown spell card, Rush Recklessly! With this, my Dark Blade gains another 700 point boost!"

Dark Blade (2900/1900)

"NO!" Howard covered his face as Dark Blade caused his Launcher Spider to explode with another swipe of the dragon-sword in it's hand.

**H: 1200  
C: 1200**

Christina wagged her finger, "Karma...you mess with someone and their cards, you get your ass beaten by someone else because of it. Consider it to be your punishment, Howard," she drew her card, "Perfect...I play my Polymerization spell card to fuse my Pitch-Dark Dragon and my Dark Blade in order to summon...,"

She waited while the dragon peeled itself from the blade and began to swirl around with Dark Blade. A few moments later, a huge creature appeared. The lower half had a huge black dragon while Dark Blade rode on it's back.

"Dark Blade the Dragon Knight (2200/1500)!"

Howard frowned, "That was pointless, it has the same attack points as the last time!"

"That may be," she shrugged, "But I've always wanted to use this since I got it...you were the perfect test subject, Howard! Dark Blade, attack the last Gadget with Dark Dragoon Slash!"

**H: 200  
C: 1200**

Howard fell to his knees from the attack, glaring at her, "That was cheap...,"

Christina frowned, "If you think that's bad, you're gonna hate this. My fusion monster has an effect. If it deals Battle Damage to my opponent, _I_ get to choose three monsters from your graveyard and remove them from play. So I'll choose Jordan's gadgets!"

Howard's eye twitched as the three cards popped out of the graveyard and fluttered to the floor nearby.

"That's _real_ cheap, you little b-,"

"What's cheap is that you beat up a kid who was only doing what he did best and steal his cards!" Christina yelled, face turning to a red that almost matched her dorm uniform, "From the beginning, you looked familiar to me. Why, I wasn't sure, but after seeing your deck and the way you play...it reminded me of something I heard growing up,"

She looked straight into his eyes, "I know you're name isn't Howard...at least your first name, anyway. The only way I can see you play like this is because you...," she pointed to him, "...are just like Bandit Keith Howard himself!".

Kairi stared at her, then turned to the opponent, "She serious?!"

Christina nodded, "Yep. Keith Howard a.k.a Bandit Keith...a duelist from Duelist Kingdom that cheated and did God knows what else to get as far as he did in that tournament. In what relation are you to him?"

Howard grit his teeth, "My name is Darren Howard...Keith is my older brother,"

"Older brother?!" Kairi's jaw dropped, "That jerk has a brother?!"

He nodded, "He taught me how to win at Duel Monsters by any means necessary. When I lost to Rhodes there," he glanced at Jordan, "I knew his lessons would come in handy...,".

"But there was one thing you didn't count on,"

"And what's that?"

Christina jerked a thumb towards herself, "Facing someone who doesn't put up with loser duelists like you..,"

Darren stepped back, "Well there's something _you_ didn't count on either...,"

"Oh?"

He nodded, "Yeah...this!" he grabbed his deck from his disk and jumped off the platform, grabbing the gadgets from the floor before taking off towards the exit.

Christina cursed under her breath, "Dammit, I hate runners...," she looked to the side to see Kairi picking Jordan up and holding him to his feet, "You watch him, I got a deadbeat to wail on,".

Her roommate nodded, "Go kick his ass!"

The brunette Slifer dashed out of the arena, eyes staring at Darren's retreating back.

"GET BACK HERE, HOWARD!" she screamed as she gained on him.

Darren turned a corner and Christina was about to follow him, only skidded to a stop. She nearly fell over, but managed to keep her footing. Standing just a foot away was Professor Banner, along with two campus security officers, one of them holding onto Howard.

"Christina, what is all this ruckus?" Banner asked, folding his arms, his voice stern.

Panting, Christina pointed to Howard, "He...stole...Jordan's cards...beat him up...,"

Banner turned to the Obelisk, "Is this true?"

Darren shook his head, "Hell no! I was late for curfew and she just started chasing me! I don't even know who this chick is!"

"Professor, you gotta believe me, if you just search him, he has four cards that belong to Jordan Rhodes!" Christina pleaded and pointed around the corner, "The arena, Kairi and I found him...she's coming with him in tow, she can vouch for me!"

Darren glared at her, "I said I don't have those damn Gadget cards!" he yelled.

Banner looked at him, eyebrow raised, "If you didn't steal them, then how did you know which ones she was talking about? She never mentioned them...," he asked.

Darren was speechless as Kairi and Jordan came around the corner, the Ra now awake. Sore, but awake.

The Head of Slifer dorm nodded, "Jordan...," he walked over and searched Darren's pockets, taking out the mentioned cards and holding them out to the boy, "I believe these belong to you?".

Jordan reached out and took the cards, wincing, "Thank you Professor...,".

Banner nodded and turned to Darren and the officer holding him, "I think Doctor Crowler and Chancellor Shephard would like to know about this," he glanced at the officer, "Take him to Crowler personally...,".

The guard nodded and walked off, dragging Howard behind him.

Then Banner turned to the second guard, "Would you kindly escort Mr Rhodes to his dorm in Ra?".

"Yessir,"

As the last guard walked with Jordan down the hallway, Banner turned to Kairi and Christina, "Normally, I'd have you two put into detention for breaking curfew, but I think this counts as a special occasion,"

Before the girls could say anything, he held up his hand and started walking towards the nearest down, "Now come...I managed to save you dinner. We didn't have to worry about Chumley and Jaden eating them all tonight since they're helping Miss Dorothy with something at the card shack.

As they walked outside, Kairi leaned in and lowered her voice, "I know you didn't get to finish, but that was a great duel, Chrissy,"

"Thanks...," Christina wrapped her arm around Kairi and pulled her close, "Buddy,"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: -cracks knuckles- wow...ok, that was a long and hard one...I just hope I did it right. Ja ne!**


	28. Incredible, Edible, Eggwich!

**Incredible, Edible, Eggwich!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

While Chrissy, Jordan and Kairi were off in the arena, Siho, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and even Alexis were having their own little adventure. Miss Dorothy, the card store owner of the Academy, had told them someone had been sneaking in at night every week and stealing the best sandwich in all the unmarked sandwiches of the foodbin: the golden eggwich.

To make a long story short, the Slifers, the Obelisk Queen, and the card shop owner were hiding in the dark, waiting for the thief to show up. Now, Siho wouldn't care, but he was too damn bored to do anything else. The thief had come by, and when they sprung the trap, they all saw it was a big, muscular man with shaggy black hair and ripped shorts.

Unfortunately, before they could confront him the first time, the thief ran off into the wilderness of the island, followed by the group. They caught up with him again, but he almost escaped once more while climbing up a waterfall. However, Miss Dorothy recognized him as Damon, a student that went missing a year ago.

According to his story, Damon had been out in the woods training himself hard in order to get better draws in his duels. He had been doing well in exams, but when it came to his dueling, he always got the worst cards in a draw. Now, in an effort to keep him from stealing more eggwiches, Jaden did the one thing that pretty much solved any of his problems.

He challenged Damon to a duel.

Siho sighed as he looked back and forth from Jaden and Damon, who now stood on opposite sides, both wearing Duel Disks, "If I had a rare card everytime Jaden challenged someone to a duel, my deck would be a powerhouse right now," he muttered.

Alexis rolled her eyes, "Stop complaining and watch ok?"

"Fine...,"

**D: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Time to throwdown...," Jaden drew his sixth card, "Sweet! I summon Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in attack mode!" he declared as his feathered friend made his entrance then inserted a card into the first slot, "I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn,"

"Just as tree sways to and fro, I know what will come," Damon drew his card and chuckled at what he saw, "The Nature has taught me well. I play card facedown, then I play card I just drew, Drawler (?/?)!"

Damon let out a Tarzan yell as a huge golemish monster appeared, huge wheels underneath it's limbs so that it looked like a monster truck.

"Rock Biter!"

Alexis sweatdropped and shook her head at Siho's outburst, then turned to him, "Must you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"Constantly yell movie quotes?"

He shrugged, "If I must...now shush, the duel's going,"

"Now, for every card in my hand that I return to deck, Drawler gain 500 Attack and Defense points," he held up his entire hand, "I have four cards, and I return them all,"

Siho nodded as Drawlers points went up quickly, "Interesting move...,"

Drawler (2000/2000)

"Aw man...that Drawler's decked out," Syrus moaned.

"Drawler, attack Avian with Stone Roll Wrecker!" Damon commanded.

His stone monster growled and immediately ran over Avian with it's huge presses, completely flattening the Hero. Siho tried to hold back a crack as Avian came into view, looking like something from an older cartoon.

**D: 4000  
J: 3000**

Jaden looked down at his deck to see that his card didn't go to where it was supposed to go, it went to the bottom of his deck, "What the?"

"When monster in Attack Mode get beat by Drawler, he no go to Graveyard, he go to bottom of deck," Damon explained, "So you won't be able to use long time. My turn end,"

"Nice move," Jaden complimented as he drew and looked at his new card, "I activate Polymerization!" he held up the magic card, "Now, I fuse Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and Elemental Hero Clayman from my hand to summon the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500) in Defense Mode!"

"In Defense Mode?" Damon echoed.

Jaden nodded, "Yep. But if I take her Attack Points, and split them in half, I can attack you directly! Rampart Barrage!"

Damon let out another Tarzan yell as the missles crashed in the ground in front of him, knocking off a sizeable amount of Life Points.

**D: 3000  
J: 3000**

_He draw good card for man who wear shirt and have haircut_ Damon thought, looking at Jaden _But he no match for way of nature!_

As Damon rose to his feet, Jaden looked straight at him _...This guy's got a weird look in his eyes. Well, **weirder...**_

_I wonder if Chrissy is trying not to kill her roommate right now..._Siho looked up at the sky _Or maybe Banner's trying to keep Chrissy from glomping Pharaoh too much. Hmm..._

"I activate Trap!" Damon paused as his facedown card was raised, "Miracle Draw! This how work. Before I take card from deck, I announce what card I think I draw, and if I right, you take 1000 points of damage. If _I_ wrong, I take damage,"

Syrus blinked, "So he's just guessing what card he's gonna draw?" he asked, unsure if he heard right.

_Oh please..._ Siho crossed his arms _No one can get this sort of thing right. Not unless they had multiple copies of different cards in their decks, _he glanced at Damon, _Something tells me Wildman here doesn't have a deck like that, so he's making a very risky move_

He didn't know it, but Alexis was thinking the very same thing at that moment.

"You think I won't guess right?" Damon asked Jaden.

Jaden shrugged, "You might...,"

"No _might_! The snow no might melt, it _will_ melt!" Damon closed his eyes for a few moments, a look of intense concentration on his face. After a short time, Damon's eyes shot wide open, "Card will be Card Load!" he declared, drawing his card.

He held up the card to show them all that it _was _Card Load.

"No way!" Syrus stared at him.

"He guessed right??" Alexis gaped at the card.

"This guy's weirding me out," Chumley commented.

"Pfft...lucky guess," Siho shook his head, "Pure luck,"

"Now, thanks to Miracle Draw, you lose 1000 Life Points," Damon told Jaden, smiling.

**D: 3000  
J: 2000**

Jaden grunted at the loss, but he didn't say anything to it.

Damon inserted the card he just drew into a slot, "Next, I activate the effect of Card Load. You gain 1000 Life Points and I lose 1000 Life Points, but I get to draw one card from deck," he paused and drew, "But at end of turn, I return card to my deck,"

**D: 2000  
J: 3000**

"All that to make a draw?" Chumley asked, unsure of the move.

Siho nodded, "If you don't count the returning card part, Card Load is like a different version of Upstart Goblin. You give your opponent 1000 Life Points, but instead of losing your own and drawing a card, you just draw,"

Alexis listened to Siho and glanced at Damon _Well, I appreciate Siho's comparing, but I don't think that's the case here. Damon must have a good hunch on what's there..._

Damon looked at his card, "I like!" he inserted the card into a slot, "I activate Dropper, a Spell card. Now _you _draw card," he looked at Jaden, "and I guess. If I'm right, all cards in your hand and field go back to your deck,"

Jaden drew his card and held it up, the back of it to Damon.

The wildman closed his eyes again and for a short time, he stood there in silence.

"No way he can do this...he doesn't even know Jaden's deck!" Siho scratched his head.

"Siho's right, he can't do this again," Syrus agreed.

Damon opened his eyes, "De-Fusion!" he called out.

Jaden looked at the card and laughed, "Well waddya know? You're right again!" he turned the card over and everyone gasped, seeing the card _was_ De-Fusion. He took all the cards in his hand, and the Rampart Blaster and placed them back into the rightful place, then shuffled his deck.

Syrus shook his head as he saw that Jaden was now completely defenseless, "This is gonna hurt...,"

"Drawler, attack with Stone Roll Wrecker!" Damon ordered.

_C'mon, flatten him, flatten him, flatten him_ Siho mentally begged as he watched Drawler go through Jaden, but saw that Jaden was still standing, "Aw man...,"

**D: 2000  
J: 1000**

Damon took Card Load from his field and placed it back into his deck, "I end my turn,".

"Then here's mine," Jaden drew his card, "I'll summon Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in Defense Mode and end my turn,"

"Not lishius...," Chumley looked on at the field, "With Miracle Draw still out on the field, all Damon has to do is guess the right card again, and it's goodbye eggwiches,"

"Is it over yet?"

Everyone turned to Miss Dorothy, who they had completely forgotten about until now. Syrus shook his head, "No, it's not over,"

_This it. Just as I know leaves wilt and grow, I know I can pick my next draw _Damon thought, looking at Jaden and his beast, _With Wroughtweiler in Defense Mode, there is only one card that can help me. With it, I can crush Wroughtweiler...can crush Jaden!_ he closed his eyes and concentrated _Shield Crush...Shield Crush...give me Shield Crush!_

Siho clicked his tongue at Damon's scrunched up face, "He's either thinking real hard about his next move, or he's trying to rip a big one outta his ass,".

_WHAP_

He rubbed the newly formed bump on his head while Alexis turned back to the duel, "Jeez, no one can take comical relief anymore...,"

"My next draw will be Shield Crush!" Damon declared and drew his card. He looked at it and his face turned to that of shock, "Oh no!"

"Hehe..wrong-o, boyo," Siho chuckled, "Never try and pull that trick off three times...,"

**D: 1000  
J: 1000**

"I summon Doron (900/500) in Attack Mode!" Damon placed a card on the disk and a strange figure appeared on the field next to Drawler. It sort of looked like a blackened, burned mummy.

Jaden smiled slightly at the scene.

Damon growled, "So I guess wrong, it no matter! I still beat you, just wait and see," he looked at his huge stone dozer monster, "Drawler, attack Wroughtweiler with Stone Roll Wrecker!".

Once again, in a matter of moments, Drawler ran over and flattened Wroughtweiler like something from a cartoon.

As his monster was destroyed, Jaden reached down to his graveyard slot where two cards appeared, "Thanks to Wrought's effect, I can bring Burstinatrix and Polymerization from my Graveyard and add them to my hand,"

"Fine, but I not done yet," he waved his arm, "Doron attacks you! Mad Dash Stinger!"

Three transparent clones of Doron ran out of the actual monster and surrounded Jaden, each one punching him multiple times. Jaden winced at the loss of points.

**D: 1000  
J: 100**

"Jaden!" Syrus cried, "Hang on!"

Miss Dorothy looked at the gang, "Is it over now?"

"I end turn," Damon smiled confidently, "And since you only have 100 Life Points, soon like the seasons end, I end you!"

"Ok, that's enough!"

Damon's confident look disappeared at Jaden's snapping.

"All this nature stuff...that _terrible _fake voice," Jaden shook his head.

"Fake voice?!"

Jaden looked at him, "Damon, you only spent _one_ year out here. It's not like you were actually raised out here by wolves or something...,"

"Heh...imagine a wolf-child trying to duel," Siho whispered to Alexis, "Betcha he'd mark his deck by taking a leak on them,"

_WHAP!_

Siho groaned as the first bump soon had a bump of it's own, "No taste for humor...," he sighed.

"Time to get real Damon. If drawing cards was as predictable as snow melting, you'd _never_ be wrong!" Jaden went on, "But you just did! Drawing is all about trusting your gut and being intune with yourself. Even then," he shrugged, "There's no way you'd be always right. You're only human, Damon...even if you do get around swinging on vines,"

He held up his deck, "That's what makes drawing so great, you never know what's gonna come next! You can only hope...like I'm hoping for a certain card right now!" he drew his card, "Well waddya know?" he glanced at Damon from behind the card, "You remember when you sent that first monster I had back to my deck and said I'd never get it back? Well, because you made me shuffle my deck, guess who's back on top?" he turned the card over to reveal it was Avian.

"So what? I can just use Drawler to destroy him again!" Damon shot back.

Jaden shook his head, "Not this time! I play the Spell card Polymerization to fuse my returned Burstinatrix and my Avian in order to summon the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

"And here comes the end...," Siho smirked, "Predictable but...," he shrugged, "Not too bad,"

"Flame Wingman, attack Drawler with Infernal Rage!" Jaden ordered his Hero.

Wingman fired off a stream of flams from it's dragonhead arm and burned Drawler right off the field in a wall of fire.

**D: 900  
J: 100**

"So what?" Damon looked through the smoke of his destroyed monster, "I still standing!"

"Not for long!" Jaden smiled, "I activate Flame Wingman's superpower. He can now attack you directly with the Attack Points of your destroyed monster as damage. That brings you down to..."

**D: 0  
J: 100**

"Zero!"

Damon fell to his knees, "I...lose...?" he pounded the dirt, "I can't believe I lost! I trained out here for a whole year!"

Jaden walked up to him, "Hey, you're speaking like a real human being again!"

"Huh? I uh...no get...what you...,"

The Slifer sighed and shook his head, "It's ok Damon. Look, just be yourself ok?"

"Yeah, seriously, that Tarzan bit is really annoying," Siho muttered under his breath.

Damon looked up at Jaden, "You mean it? Because I could really use a shower and a haircut...,"

Miss Dorothy walked over and knelt in front of him, "And a shirt," she added, near tears.

She wasn't the only one. Damon was on the verge of crying. He quickly rubbed his eyes, "Well...I was thinking. All that vine-swinging really got my body ripped so...,"

"A shirt...!" Miss Dorothy repeated.

-----

About a week later, Damon had returned to Duel Academy, in his former Obelisk uniform and his mane cut. He didn't do the Tarzan thing, or steal the eggwiches anymore, just as he promised. Now, he and Jaden were in the store, headed for the bin.

"Did anyone draw the eggwich yet?" Jaden asked Miss Dorothy.

She shook her head smiling, "No one yet!"

Damon and Jaden smiled before reaching into the bin together. Only, it was in vain.

"I got it! The eggwich!"

Both of them looked up to see Alexis holding up a sandwich triumphantly, a large smile on her face. Jaden was about to ask if she would share, but before he did, he noticed something about the sandwich.

"Uh...Lex, that's not the eggwich...,"

The Obelisk frowned, "Of course it is!" she looked at the sandwich, and was revolted to see that it wasn't the eggwich she had before, but a sandwich with a grey blob sticking out of the buns.

"Where'd my eggwich go?!"

Siho walked down the corridor, leaving the store behind him.

"I'm all for not stealing food from a lady, but...," he took a bite from the golden eggwich he had swiped from Alexis just moments before, "that's what she gets from hitting me when I try to make jokes," he took another bite and looked at the sandwich, "Man, that's good...,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: I figured since Chrissy and Kairi had their own thing on the same night as the others were following the eggwich thief, it would only be fair to post it.**

**Up next is one of the duels we all love. Ya'll know which I mean!**

**Ja ne!**


	29. The False King Part One

**The False King Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Siho and Jaden walked down the corridors of Duel Academy, enjoying their lunch break and discussing deck strategies. The two of them had their respective decks, but in someway, they both felt like that had something in common.

"So, anyway, think about it. If I used Ectoplasmer on ya, even if you have a stronger monster, I can beat you like that," Siho snapped his fingers.

Jaden grinned, "I'd like to see you try, Siho. Just try and be-," he stopped talking and looked ahead, "What's going on?".

Siho turned to see a very large crowd of Slifers, Obelisks, and Ras standing in the card store, "Maybe a new shipment of rare cards?" he offered before Jaden quickened his pace.

Jaden ran up to Bastion, who was in the back of the crowd, arms folded.

"Hey Bastion, what's going on?" he greeted, looking over the heads of the others, "Is it eggwich day again?"

Bastion shook his head smiling, "No, Jaden, just some lunch-time tussle,"

"Is that brainiac-talk for a duel?" Siho asked, joining them.

Jaden looked over the heads of the crowd to see a Ra Yellow student on one side of the shop, his spikey black hair pointing upward, the orange highlights and orange bangs adding interesting color to his look, "Who's throwing down?".

"Well the one on the left," Bastion nodded to the other Ra, "is Dimitri,"

"Never heard of him. Who's the other-," Jaden turned to the other side of the store to see an all too familiar Slifer, "_Syrus_?!"

Syrus turned at the sound of his name being called and saw the others, "Hey Siho, hey Jaden!" he waved at them.

"What's going on?" Jaden asked, weaving in and out of the crowd, Siho close behind him.

"A high-stakes duel," Syrus explained before pointing to an assortment of posters on the wall above them, "Check it out!".

Siho and Jaden looked up at the wall to see all the posters had the picture of the greatest duelist of all. Yugi Motou, the King of Games himself!

_Duuuuude..._ Siho stared at the posters.

"Yugi's deck is going on tour, and it's first stop is Duel Academy!" Syrus told them, "Isn't that the coolest?"

"Yeah it is!" Jaden stared longingly at the posters, a happy look on his face, "The original King of Games deck...to see with my very own eyes?!"

"Yeah, and if I win this I get-," Syrus turned back to the two and noticed that they were still staring at the posters. He walked over and waved a hand in front of their faces, "Hello? Hey guys...?" he looked at them both and groaned, "I knew this was gonna happen...,"

Jaden slowly pushed away Syrus' hand, still looking at the poster, "Yugi's deck, _here_! I can't believe it! It's a piece of history...all it's been through...,"

Syrus nodded, looking back at the posters, "Yeah, think about it! It's the deck he took to Duelist Kingdom, where he beat Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters!"

"Don't forget Battle City!" Jaden threw in, "Where he used it to beat Seto Kaiba,"

"Marik Ishtar, too!" Siho breathed, eyes glazed over.

"I know and the way he used those Egyptian God cards?" Syrus reminded them, "Man, that was amazing. Of course the deck won't be on tour with the Egyptian Gods. But luckily, all the classics from his deck will still be there!"

_The classics..._ Siho stared at the deck in the poster, _His powerhouse Spellcasters...heh...that would indeed be a sight to see_

"Aw man, I can't wait!" Syrus practically squealed in excitement, "It'll be the biggest thing ever! We gotta go...we hafta go!"

Jaden looked at his bouncy friend, "I'm with you Sy, so what are you doing dueling?" he asked, looking at his opponent, "Let's go get some tickets!"

"Jaden...," Miss Dorothy called out from behind the counter, "That's why Syrus is dueling. There's only one ticket left for the exhibit and whoever wins," she whipped out the stub, "gets it! Can you imagine a better prize than that?"

"Uh yeah," Jaden eyed Syrus, "One with _two_ tickets...,"

Syrus blinked, "Two? You wanna bring a third person, Jaden?" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket, "I already got mine early on,"

Jaden stared at his friend and a smile crept onto his face as it dawned on him, "You're dueling for _my_ ticket?"

"Of course!" Syrus walked back to his original place on the field, "I'm gonna win, too!"

"C'mon Truesdale!" Siho clapped, coming back to reality, having heard the last few parts, "Kick his ass and get that ticket!"

"You're the best, Syrus!" Jaden cheered.

Syrus smiled at the words and observed the field. Dimitri had two facedown cards and he had one monster out on the field, a Jetroid (1200/1800) in Attack Mode.

"My turn!" Dimitri drew his card and smiled, "I play Heavy Storm! That, young scholar, will destroy all Magic and Trap cards on the field!"

Jaden looked at Dimitri, a little thrown off. Something about his voice felt like something he had felt before, but he couldn't place it.

"That sounds familiar," he commented.

"It should,"

Siho and Jaden turned to see Bastion had made his way to their place in the crowd.

The Ra nodded towards his fellow Ra, "That's the move Crowler used on you, Jaden,"

"Huh...," Jaden turned back to the duel, "Talk about a coincidence,"

Dimitri's smile widened as two ugly golden Fiendish tokens appeared in a fog, "Now, I'll sacrifice the Wicked Tokens that were created and summon forth, the legendary Ancient Gear Golem (3000/3000)!"

Jaden stared as the huge mechanical monster rose from the fog, _Talk about total deja vu... _he thought, looking at both the monster and it's owner, who had this smile that he would swear belonged to the real master of the Golem

"Ancient Gear Golem, attack with Mechanized Melee!" Dimitri ordered, waving his hand forward.

The huge mech pulled back it's fist and threw a hard right straight towards Syrus' monster and his Life Points.

"Not so fast!" Syrus called out, "I activate my Jetroid's special ability! When he's attacked, I can play a Trap from my hand like...," he held up a card from his hand, "Magic Cylinder!".

Syrus smiled as a pair of red tubes appeared between his monster and the Golem, "This Trap takes Mechanized Melee and throws it in reverse!".

Dimitri stepped back, "Time out!"

It was too late though. The Golem's Melee strike entered one tube and seconds later, shot through the other one like a rocket and collided with Dimitri, knocking away the last of his Life Points.

"Yeah!" Syrus raised his arm in victory, "That's how ya duel!"

"Sweet move!" Jaden ran over to his friend, "You sent that Golem to the junkyard!"

Syrus rubbed the back of his head, "It was easy, really. I've already seen you beat Doctor Crowler and since Dimitri copied his deck, I knew exactly what to do,".

Siho nodded _Even though he had seen a strategy like that, I'm glad that Syrus was able to use what he knew in the duel. I guess he's getting better as a duelist..._

"Oh that reminds me!" Syrus walked over to the counter where Dorothy handed him the stub. He held up the ticket and walked back Jaden, "Here's your ticket, Jay,"

"Sy, you are the best!" Jaden praised, snatching the ticket out of his hand.

"Alright everyone, show's over...," Dorothy told the crowd, rising from her stool, "Time to get back to class,"

As the crowd dispersed, Dimitri could hear what some of them thought about the duel.

"Another _stunning_ performance by Dimitri!"

"As a Ra Yellow, he shoulda creamed that Slifer loser!"

"I guess copying a great duelist and being a great duelist are two different things...,"

"What a joke!"

"Really! It's a wonder he's still here,"

Bastion looked from side to side, seeing the crowd get thinner and thinner, then turned to Dimitri, smiling, "Well, I think that's the worst of it...,"

"Sure, until the next time I lose!" Dimitri snapped, his voice normal now as he rose from the floor, "Well I've had it!".

Bastion stepped to the side quickly and watched as his fellow Ra ran past him, an angry look on his face.

"Hm,"

-----

That night, Dimitri sat alone in his dorm room at his desk, countless books and notebooks littering his desk. He thought back to his duels and how many times he lost and banged his fists.

"I don't get it! It doesn't make sense!" he growled, throwing his notes and texts off of his desk, "I watch, I study...and I _still_ lose!"

Papers filled with deck outlines, equations, and formulas that would make Bastion find a comrade in Dimitri fluttered to the floor while the Ra seethed with anger.

"Crowler's deck...it was as useless as all the rest of them!" he grit his teeth, "Kaiba's or Zane's...it doesn't matter _who_ I copy, I always lose! What is there left to do? After all, if _copying_ the greatest duelists in the world won't help me win...what can?"

As soon as he said that, he felt something brush against his knuckle. He looked down and noticed a small flyer laying in the middle of the desk. Looking at it, Dimitri smiled and picked it up, "Of course, it's so obvious! _Becoming_ the greatest duelist...,"

-----

"...then _I_ said, 'No, you don't, Dimitri, 'cause I'm putting your Mechanized Melee in reverse'...well, like that, only cooler,"

Chumley, Christina, and Kairi nodded as Syrus finished his tale about how he won against the Ra earlier that day.

"That was _awesome_...," Kairi breathed, eyes wide.

Christina nodded, "Who woulda thought Syrus actually woulda pulled that trick off?"

Syrus facefaulted while Siho laughed loudly, before he turned and saw Jaden wasn't listening to a word they were saying. He was staring at his Winged Kuriboh card.

Siho pried a pebble from underneath his shoe and flung it at Jaden's head, "Oi, Yuki! Waddya doing over there?"

"Thinking...,"

Christina let out a gasp, "Oh my god, Jaden's thinking, it's a sign of the Apocalypse!"

Jaden lifted his head from his desk, "I can't get Yugi's deck outta my mind...," he replied.

Chumley turned his head slightly to him, "Why?"

"Why?" Jaden turned in his seat, a grin on his face, "Why do you like grilled cheese?" he asked, rising from the chair, "Look, I can't wait another second to check out those legendary cards. Who's up for going to the exhibit with me right now?"

Immediately, Christina and Kairi raised their hands while Siho nodded smiling.

Chumley sat up on his bunk, "You mean while they're setting up?" he nodded, "Good idea, that way we can avoid the rush.

Syrus frowned, "So wait, I went through all that trouble dueling to get you that ticket and you're not even gonna _use_ it?"

"Syrus...," Jaden ruffled his hair, "We'll go and take a sneak peek tonight, and tomorrow, we'll be the first ones in line!"

Christina ran over and opened the door, "Onward! To the King's treasure!" she cried.

"Christina, remind me to limit your soda intake...,"

"Aw...what for?"

-----

In the exhibit hall, two security officers had just finished up their rounds and now going through the routine with the most obnoxius, egotistical, elitest jerk on the island.

"Alright, Mr Crowler-,"

"That's _Doctor_ Crowler to you!"

"Doctor Crowler...," the officer handed the Head of Obelisk a small chain, "Here's the key to the exhibit all,"

"Thanks for letting us off early," the second one gave a small salute, "We'll catch you here bright and early tomorrow for the big opening!"

"Have a good one Mister...uh Doctor...uh...,"

"Good night, sir,"

Crowler waved at them as they walked away, "Yes, yes, good night!" he called, trying to hold back his giddy laughter. He looked at the key, "Quite a good night, indeed," he turned and started down the hallway, looking at the numerous posters of Yugi on the wall, "After all, how many can say that they were in the presence of greatness? Of the world's most famous dueling deck?"

He opened the door and walked inside. In the middle of the room was a display case with a mini-pedestal inside of it. As he walked closer to it, he noticed something was very wrong. The glass case had a jagged hole on one side, the broken glass crunching as he walked over it. The deck of Yugi Motou, the King of Games...was gone!

"It's...not there?!"

Meanwhile, the two guards were making their way down the hall, unaware of what had happened.

"You know, I didn't know he was a doctor?"

"Yeah, well I didn't even know he was a _dude_,"

While these two chatted away, the six eager Slifers turned the corner and quietly ran the opposite way down the hallway, towards the exhibit hall.

As they neared it, the six saw two other people making their way towards them.

Christina skidded to a stop, causing both Siho and Kairi to bump into her.

"Jordan? Bastion?" she blinked, "What are you guys doing here?"

Both Ras came to a halt, seeing them as well. Jordan looked at Bastion, who smiled.

"What else?" Bastion pointed to the hall, "Getting a glance at the deck...,"

Jaden grinned, "Guess great minds do think alike huh?"

A shrill shriek echoed down the hallway at that moment, making all of them look towards the door at the end.

"Hear that?" Syrus looked at Jaden.

He nodded, "Someone's in trouble,"

"C'mon, let's help her!" Bastion urged before running down the hall, closely followed by the others.

They burst into the room to see Crowler jump at their entrance. He was standing at the display case where the deck was supposed to be, only it wasn't there.

"Oh my god...," Christina stared at Crowler, "He stole the deck!"

"I don't believe it!" Jordan gaped.

Syrus frowned, "Why'd you do it Doctor Crowler?"

The Head of Obelisk waved his hands and shook his head quickly, "Wait, you got it all wrong!"

Jaden turned to Bastion, "Let's go get Chancellor Shephard,"

Nodding in agreement, everyone turned to leave, but before they could, they all fell face first into the floor. Siho lifted his head, about to curse when he noticed that Kairi had somehow landed onto Christina. He looked at them and propped himself up on his elbow, smiling, "First, Alexis and her friends tying up people, now two girls on one another...this is best place to go to school!"

_SLAP! SLAP!_

"PERVERT!"

Crowler picked himself up while Christina and Kairi both hit Siho hard in the face.

"Believe me...I know this looks bad but I didn't steal the deck!" Crowler said quickly, "I swear!"

"Then who did?" Bastion asked him.

"You _were _the only one here, Doctor Crowler...," Chumley pointed out.

"Standing right next to the case," Syrus added.

Crowler stood up, arms open, "Then search me! Search me right now!"

Jordan paled at the idea, _God that'll give me nightmares for weeks..._

Jaden looked straight into Crowler's eyes and rose to his feet, "It _might_ be because I don't wanna search him...but I think Doctor Crowler is telling the truth,"

"So that means the real thief is out there somewhere," Siho cracked his neck, "With the best treasure in dueling history...,"

Jaden nodded, "Let's split up look for the creep,"

Crowler nodded rapidly, "Yes, yes! We must find this wrong-doer, this pillager! Of course, when I mean _we_ I mean _you,_"

_God I hate this guy..._ Siho thought as they left.

-----

On the coast, on a large outcropping of rock, Dimitri stood there in the moonlight, a large green scarf wrapped around his neck, it and his blazer blowing in the wind. He was currently enjoying the prize he had stolen.

He smiled as he fanned out Yugi's own cards, taking in the feel and the beautiful artwork on the cards.

"Finally...now that I have the best cards," he reached up and pulled the scarf away from his face, "I'll be the best duelist in the world!"

"Hey!"

_That voice...it's Truesdale..._ Dimitri didn't even turn at the shout.

"Someone just stole Yugi's deck! You know anything?"

Chuckling, Dimitri turned around, "Stole? What do you mean stole?" he asked in a much deeper voice, "This is _my_ deck!"

Syrus just stood there as Dimitri tossed him a Duel Disk, then noticed that the Ra had a disk on his own arm as well.

"Put the disk on and I'll prove it to you! Right here, right now," Dimitri challenged, inserting the deck into his now active Duel Disk.

"Aw man...," Syrus placed the spare disk on his arm and switched it on.

_Time to see how much better I am with the King's deck_ Dimitri smirked.

-----

Meanwhile, Chumley, Kairi, Jaden, Christina, Siho, Bastion and Jordan met up at the bridge that connected the island to the docks.

"Dorm's clear," Baston reported.

"Nothing in the classrooms," Chumley panted.

"Chrissy and I couldn't find anything at the ferry," Kairi added.

Siho shook his head in silence.

Jordan only shrugged, "Nada,"

A yell from nearby made them turn towards the bridge.

"That was Syrus!" Jaden cried, taking off.

Jordan started off in the opposite direction, "I'll be right back guys!"

Bastion watched him leave, "Where are you going?!"

"To get help!"

-----

Dimitri smiled as Syrus lay there on the rocks, defeated.

"Ah yes...it's good to be the King of Games!" he laughed loudly in his deep voice as Jaden and the other came running up to their fallen friend.

"Syrus, you ok?" Jaden knelt down to his friend, "What happened?"

"He...has it...," Syrus slowly sat up, "Yugi's dueling deck...,"

Christina gasped and glared at Dimitri, "You little snot, prepare to get your ass beat! It's one thing to steal a deck, but when it belongs to Yugi itself, may the Gods of Egypt show you mercy, 'cause I won't!" she screamed, rolling up her sleeves.

Siho rolled his eyes as he grabbed her collar, preventing her from running over, "Easy...easy...,"

While she was being held back, Jaden ran over and leapt onto the rock where Syrus was standing not too long ago, "Fun time's over, Dimitri!" he snapped, "Give back the deck, right now!"

"Dimitri?" the Ra scoffed, "_I'm_ Yugi...Dimitri's just some child who would copy other people's decks. You see, with this deck," he held up his Duel Disk, "I'm not just copying the King of Games...I _am_ the King of Games!" he looked at Jaden, "If you want this deck back, you'll have to prove that I'm not,"

Jaden shook his head, "You've really gone off the deep end, haven't you? Still," he grinned, "I never back down from a challenge!"

"Good!" Dimitri turned his Duel Disk back on while Syrus tossed Jaden his own.

"Get your game on!" Jaden shouted, inserting his Hero deck.

"It's time to duel!" Dimitri shot back as they both drew their hands.

**D: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Alright, here I come!" Jaden drew his card, "First off, I play the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in Defense Mode, and that'll do," he declared as his lady Hero appeared on the field, kneeling.

"Will it?" Dimitri drew and held up two cards, "I fuse Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) and Berfomet (1300/1800) to create Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1700)!"

Two beasts appeared: one with a brown hide, a wild mane and a small horn coming out of it's head, the other a red skinned, four armed frightful figure with four arms and large wings protruding out of it's back.

Seconds after they appeared, both monsters disappeared into a swirling wind and soon, a strange hybrid appeared. This new beast had the body of the first beast, the huge wings from the second one, and both heads on the same body.

"Uh oh...this isn't gonna be pretty," Jaden groaned, looking at the monster.

"Now go!" Dimitri pointed to Burstinatrix, "Attack with Pulverizing Pounce!"

Chimera leapt and tackled Burstinatrix to the ground hard, sending her straight to the Graveyard.

Chumley turned to his friend as Chimera returned to it's place on the field, "Syrus, you just dueled this guy. Any advice on how to beat him?"

Syrus shook his head, "No...I tried everything I could think of, but I just couldn't do it,"

"Then...what are you saying, Syrus?" Kairi leaned over to look at him, "Jaden doesn't stand a chance against him?"

"I'm saying that against Yugi's deck, it's a very good possibility,"

Bastion folded his arms, "It's more than a possibility. Dimitri's a Copycat Duelist, and in order to beat him you must exploit the weaknesses of the duelist he's copying, as _you_ did when you first dueled Dimitri, Syrus," he glanced at the small Slifer, "You saw him use Crowler's deck, and you already knew how to beat him. But the problem with _this _one is that he's copying Yugi, a duelist who's weaknesses are not so well known...if he has any at all,".

Siho nodded in agreement as he pulled Christina back behind them, "There is no actually, written way on how to beat Yugi and his deck, so there's no written way Dimitri could be beaten,"

"Very well put, Siho," Bastion nodded, "Couldn't have said it better than myself,"

Jaden drew his card, "My move now," he looked at his draw, "You like fusing monsters huh? Well then, you'll love this!" he held up three cards, "I fuse the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) and the Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) to summon the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!"

"Yes!" Christina hopped up and down, "Time for some major damage!"

"First off, I'll use his special ability!" Jaden pointed to Chimera, "He can automatically destroy one monster on the field as long as it has fewer attack points than his own!"

Thunder Giant let loose a field of electricity and within seconds, Chimera was consumed by it, exploding shortly after entering the field.

Dimitri lowered his arm from his face, "Nice ability, now let me show you mine! When Chimera is destroyed, I'm allowed to summon Berfomet from the Graveyard!" he cried as his four-armed monster appeared again, this time in Defense Mode.

"Oh yeah? Well he won't be here for long! Thunder Giant, attack Berfomet with Voltic Thunder!" Jaden ordered.

Dimitri once again covered his face as his monster was wrapped with lightning bolts before blowing up.

_That last move save his Life Points from taking a big hit, _Jaden thought as he stared down the thief, _That deck is really living up to the hype!_

Dimitri drew and looked at his hand, "Alright, for my turn, I place one card facedown. Then I play this," he held up a card with a pink background and a symbol that looked like an angelic medal, "Monster Reincarnation! Now, by discarding one card from my hand, I can add one monster card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand,"

He slipped one card from his hand and placed it into his Graveyard slot, then as soon as he did, the other card popped out.

"Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts return!" he commanded, slapping the card onto the field. Once again, the uni-horned brown beast appeared alongside Berfomet. The only difference was that while Berfomet was in Defense Mode, Gazelle was in Attack Mode.

"Now, I play the magic of the card, Swords of Revealing Light!"

Jaden and everyone else watched as dozens of long, glowing blades rained down upon the field, surrounding Thunder Giant.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jaden looked around him, gazing at the swords.

"Not your attack...," Dimitri explained, "For three turns, these Swords prevent you from attacking me or my monsters!"

"_Three _turns?" Jaden grit his teeth, "I gotta find a way to break that spell...,"

He drew his next card and placed it sideways on his disk, "Go, Dark Catapulter (1000/1500)!"

Chumley smiled as the metal creature with a pair of spires on it's back appeared, kneeling, "Lishus! With Dark Catapulter on the field in Defense Mode, Jaden can destroy those Swords of Revealing Light,"

"Yatta!" Kairi wrapped her arms around Chumley's waist, "He's gonna kick this faker's butt!"

Dimitri grinned, "Yes...normally. But that's next turn, and Dark Catapulter won't be around then," he watched as his facedown card was raised to reveal a card with a coffin on it, "Because I have a Trap card out, Dark Renewal! When you make a summoning, I can sacrifice one of your monsters and one of my monsters in order to bring back a Spellcaster monster from my Graveyard,"

Jaden chuckled, "Too bad you don't _have_ a Spellcaster monster in your Grave. By my count, you only have Chimera and Berfomet," he reminded him.

"You may want to double-check your work," Dimitri smirked, "Remember when I used Monster Reincarnation and discarded a card from my hand?"

Jaden thought back and groaned, "Oh yeah...,"

_This is bad..._ Siho looked at the rising coffin, then at Jaden, _Yugi's deck had few Spellcasters in it, but all of them were powerful. I know what's coming..._

"Siho, are you ok?"

He turned to see Christina and Kairi looking at him worriedly. Shaking his head, he turned back to the duel, "I'm fine, but if that coffin has the monster I'm thinking of, Jaden won't be,"

"Now to bring back that Spellcaster. Gazelle and Dark Catapulter, make some room for the one...the only...my friend...Dark Magician (2500/2100)!!!"

_Bingo! _Siho never blinked as the coffin opened up and the legendary Spellcaster from the King of Games rose from it, staff twirling, his purple robes fluttering in the wind.

"Wow...," Jaden shook his head smiling, "I am star-struck here! The Dark Magician is like the headliner for Yugi's entire deck!"

"You think he gives autographs?" Syrus wondered aloud.

"I wish I brought my camera...," Chumley added, nodding, "This is so lishus,"

_Well played_ Bastion thought as he watched _I doubt Yugi himself could've done it better himself. Dimitri's copying him perfectly. However, that's bad news for Jaden_

"Well, Thunder Giant, you may not be able to attack, so I'm putting you on Defense," Jaden mused watching his huge Hero kneel down, arms crossed, "Your go, Dimitri!"

"That's _Yugi_," the Ra Copycat reminded him as he drew his card, followed by him inserting it into the slot under Dark Magician, "I play the Spell card, Thousand Knives!" he paused and hundreds of little glowing knives appeared floating around him, "With Dark Magician in play, I can use the Knives to destroy one of your monsters and I choose your Thunder Giant!"

The Dark Magician waved his staff and pointed at the Hero, sending the waves of glowing knives straight at Thunder Giant. The electric Hero was peirced, cut, and slashed by every single knife before exploding into a fiery shockwave, sending dirt flying past Jaden and the others.

"Still star-struck?" Dimitri asked, "Well, let's see how you feel after you're struck by your star! Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!"

The Spellcaster raised it's staff, the end of it glowing brightly. He was pushed back slightly as he let loose an orb of powerful energy directly at Jaden.

Jaden cried as the orb made contact, knocking off a large chunk of Life Points.

**D: 4000  
J: 1500**

"That...hurt...,"

"Give up!" Dimitri barked at him, happy at the success of his attack.

Jaden lifted his head, glaring at him, "Never...!"

"That's the spirit," the Copycat nodded, "Never give up, always believe in the Heart of the Cards. That's what I always say,"

"Yeah yeah, Heart of the Cards, I hear ya...," Jaden growled as he glared at him, _It's his cards I'm worried about. Either I beat them, or we lose them!_ he rose to his full height, _C'mon Jaden...it's time to get your game on!_

He drew his next card, "Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in Defense Mode," he said as his mech-mutt appeared, crouching, "That's it for me,"

"Well well, there may be no known blueprint on beating Yugi, but it looks like Jaden's still trying to design one. If my hunch is correct, what he's planning might just work...,"

"Elemental Heroes vs King of Games deck...," Christina shook her head, "No one back home will believe this...dammit, Chumley!" she slugged the larger Slifer, "Why'd your forget camera!?"

"Don't forget," Dimitri reminded him, "With Swords of Revealing Light still out, you cannot attack. However, _I_ still can! Dark Magician, once again with Dark Magic Attack!"

Jaden didn't even flinch as his mech-mutt exploded thanks to the Spellcasters attack, "Thanks! When Wroughtweiler's attacked and sent to the Graveyard, I can use his special ability to bring back an Elemental Hero and Polymerization!" he looked down to see his Spell card and Burstinatrix pop out of the slot.

"Way to play," Dimitri nodded, "You show great promise,"

"This guy is _really_ starting to bug me!" Jaden slapped a card onto the field, "Rise, Burstinatrix!"

Once again, the red-clad Heroine appeared, kneeling in Defense Mode.

"Then I'm gonna throwdown a facedown and end my turn!" Jaden finished, then looked at his monster _Burstinatrix is tough, but she's too weak to take on the Dark Magician..._ he looked down at his disk, _There's only **one** card in my deck that can take him down_. He turned to his hand, looking at a certain card, _Either I summon **him** or I lose this duel!_

"It's been three turns now," Bastion said, looking at the field.

"That means the Swords of Revealing Light are over with!" Christina clapped her hands as the bright swords around Jaden disappeared.

Syrus smiled, "Jaden! Did you hear that, the Swords are gone, you can attack next turn!"

"That's assuming he even _has_ a next turn," Dimitri scoffed as he drew, "Dark Magician, attack Hero Burstinatrix!" he commanded.

Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "Not so fast! I laid a Trap!" he looked at his rising facedown, "A Hero Emerges! It activates as soon as you declare an attack, so now...," he held up the four cards that made up his hand, "So now, you can randomly choose a card from my hand, and if it's a monster, I can summon it to the field! So choose!"

"So be it...," Dimitri pointed to one of the end cards, "The far right card!"

Jaden smiled, "Good pick...for _me_! You just chose the Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/2200)!" he placed the card on the disk, and immediately, the golden armored and bladed Hero appeared on the field, ready to fight.

"Alright!" Syrus shouted gleefully, "Bladedge has more attack points than the Dark Magician!"

Bastion smiled, "As well as every other card in Yugi's deck. Without the Egyptian God cards, that Dark Magician is the strongest monster Dimitri has,"

Dimitri heard those words and laughed, "I'm afraid you're wrong...,"

"Huh?" Jaden blinked.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhear your friends...," Dimitri turned to him, "But they're wrong...,"

"Like hell we are!" Christina screamed at him.

Dimitri smiled at those words, "You see, Dark Magician _may_ be the strongest monster in my deck, but as a duelist, it's rarely about the card, it's what you do with it!" he drew his next card, "And what I'm going to do is play this! Dedication Through Light and Darkness!"

_No! He can't be serious..._Siho gulped, his eyes widening as the Spell card appeared, _He's...not gonna bring out that card is he?!_

"This card takes Dark Magician and turns him into something _more_ powerful..." Dimitri chuckled as a dark mist came out of the Spell card and wrapped itself around the Spellcaster.

"Jaden, watch it! He's playing hardball now!" Siho screamed at his friend, earning questioning looks from the others.

"...the legendary, Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!"

The Spell card pulled the Dark Magician in and a bright purple light poured through, illuminating the area in it's aura.

"That...doesn't sound friendly," Chumley murmured.

"It's not," Bastion raised a hand to block most of the light, "It's one of the most powerful monsters you'll ever see!"

Siho gulped, "Besides the Dark Magician and his female counterpart...the Dark Magician of Chaos is known as rarest and most powerful Spellcaster in the world!"

Dimitri nodded, the purple light shining behind him, "Indeed he is, and I'm about to unleash it on _you_ Jaden! Chaos Magician, rise!" he ordered.

The Spell card behind him glowed once more and a dark, blurry figure swooped out of it, darting back and forth a few times before coming to a stop in between Dimitri and Jaden. This new Spellcaster had a tight, black suit, with red rings around it's arms and legs. On it's head, was a wide black headress that seemed to compliment it's long black hair and pale blue face. It twirled around it's pointed black staff a few times before coming to a complete stop.

"By successfully summoning him, I can take a magic card from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, so I choose Monster Reincarnation," he reached down and took a card that popped out then looked at Jaden, "Also, in case you haven't kept track, Bladedge doesn't have the most attack points anymore...Chaos Magician does!"

Jaden stepped back, "2800?!"

"Yes, now let's see them all in action!" Dimitri turned to his new Spellcaster, "Chaos Magician, Scepter Strike!"

Chaos Magician pointed it's sharpened staff and fired off a crackling orb of energy, then everyone watched as it struck Bladedge head on, completely obliterating him.

**D: 4000  
J: 1300**

"Just face it," Dimitri held up his disk, "This deck and I fit perfectly! Always have, always will!"

Jaden lifted his head, coughing from the smoke, "Not if I can help it!" he wheezed staring down the Magician and the Copycat.

_Although...I'm not sure if I can to be honest. Against the King of Games _he gulped a little as he looked at Dimitri, swearing that with the scarf blowing, his posture, and his attitude, he did indeed look like the King himself.

_...I'm no sure if getting my game on will be enough!_

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: aw geez...man that took awhile...**

**Yami K: I'll say -fans smoking keyboard- that's the second board you burned through since the new year started!**

**Kilnorc: hey, it's what I do. Ok guys, looks like Jaden's having himself a hard time against this thief. Will he make it or will the King of Games wannabe ascend to victory? Find out next chapter! Ja ne!**

**P.S. Also, seeing as you all seem to love this story, I should do this. That author that inspired me to do this? It's one by the penname of Phantom 1. He himself is doing rewrites, but right now, he's doing the original YGO series!**

**It's called Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar, so if ****you guys like my work, then you'll DEFINITELY love his!**


	30. The False King Part Two

**The False King Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time on GX: Heroes, Jaden and the rest of the Slifers found out that Yugi's deck, the same one that he carried from Duelist Kingdom all the way through his dueling career, was going on tour, and it's first stop was Duel Academy!_**

**_In an effort to beat the rush, they all decided to sneak into the exhibit to get a glimpse at the deck, and met up with both Bastion and Jordan. However, when they got there, they found Crowler and a broken, empty display case. After listening to the sobbing Head of Obelisk, the group split up across the island in order to find the thief._**

**_Syrus found him first. It was Dimitri, a Ra Yellow who always copycat someone else's deck and even their personality, believing that he himself, was the duelist he was mimicking. Syrus fell to the deck of the King of Games, but Jaden came to the rescue, challenging Dimitri to a duel for the fate of the deck._**

**_The start was rough, Dimitri countering Jaden's Heroes and even bringing out the all-powerful Dark Magician, Yugi's favorite monster. However, just when the others thought Jaden had him in a corner, Dimitri pulled a fast one and summoned the Dark Magician of Chaos. Now, with much lower Life Points, and hardly any defense at all, Jaden's gotta pull something outta his deck, or else he loses._**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**D: 4000  
J: 1300**

Syrus looked on at the field, taking in both sides, "Jaden is in deep trouble...,"

"Unfortunately, Syrus, that's the understatement of the year," Bastion somewhat agreed, "Look what he has to contend with: the Dark Magician of Chaos, full Life Points, the King of Games' deck...it's not deep, it's subterranean,"

"I've got get my game on," Jaden murmured to himself as he looked at his opponent, "Not only does this guy have Yugi's deck, he thinks he _is_ Yugi, and the only way I can set him straight is by beating him...," he sighed, "Well, I've always wondered how I would stack up against my idol...guess this is as good a chance as any!"

"My move!" Jaden drew his next card and looked at it in surprise. What were the chances he would draw this very card in this very duel?

-Flashback-

_Jaden raced through the crowds of Domino City, desperate not to be late to the entrance exams. While he was dashing through the streets, he caught sight of someone in his path, but couldn't stop himself in time._

_"Heads up!" he called out before ramming into the person, knocking himself and his deck to the ground. Jaden picked himself up and tried to pick up his cards, "Sorry about that!" he apologized quickly._

_The person he ran into walked up behind him, "You're a duelist...aren't you?"_

_"Yep!" Jaden turned to him, "I'm on my way to tryout for the Academy,"_

_"Heh...," the man reached behind him, to his own deck case and pulled out a card, "Is that so?"_

_"Uh huh," Jaden opened his mouth to say something, but that's when he got a good look at the person he ran into. He pointed to him, blinking in disbelief, "Hey...y-you're...,"_

_The man held out the card, "Why don't you take this? I have a feeling it belongs with you,"_

_Jaden nodded dumbly and took the card, then looked at it to see that it was a Winged Kuriboh card. He turned around to see the man walk off, "Hey wait!" he called out._

_The man stopped and turned to him._

_"I'll...I'll make you proud!" Jaden swore, bowing to him._

_Smiling, the man gave Jaden a thumbs-up, then continued walking down the street._

-End Flashback-

A light hooting sound echoed in Jaden's ears as the Winged Kuriboh in the picture seemed to be alive.

"Are you sure?" the Slifer asked, "You're gonna go up against your old masters deck...," he trailed off.

Another hoot, a rather positive one made Jaden smile.

"Alright," he placed the card sideways on his disk, "I summon my pal, Winged Kuriboh (300/200)," he watched as his furry friend came out, wings and claws closed inward, "With him chillin' in Defense Mode, I'll place a card facedown and end my turn,"

"Winged Kuriboh, good to see you," Dimitri drew his next card, "But, it's not as good as the original," he placed a card onto his disk, "Say hello Kuriboh (300/200)...," he said as an almost identicall furry monster appeared alongside the Chaos Magician.

"Two Kuribohs?" Syrus looked at the two furballs.

"Furry-Fest!" Christina cried.

Siho shook his head, "That sounded wrong in _so_ many ways, Chrissy,"

"First things first, Jaden," Dimitri waved his arm, "Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Burstinatrix!".

The black-clad Spellcaster flew at the Heroine, staff glowing with energy.

"I don't think so, Dimitri!" Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I got a Trap and it's called Super Junior Confrontation!"

"Super Who Does What now?" Kairi asked.

Jaden grinned, "This may sound weak, but that's the point! This Trap card negates your Magician's attack and forces our weakest monsters to do battle, and when I say weakest, I mean in points of course! So it's gonna be your Kuriboh against mine,"

"A Hairball Battle Royale...," Chumley mused.

The Chaos Magician retreated back to Dimitri's side and Kuriboh launched itself at Winged Kuriboh. The wingless furball rammed hard into the winged furball and sent it straight to the Graveyard.

Dimitri growled slightly, "You got off easy, but I'll get you next time. I end my turn with a facedown," he said as he inserted a card into an empty slot.

_Winged Kuriboh took one for the team there _Bastion thought, looking at both sides _Jaden would be in a tight spot if he had lost Burstinatrix..._

"My go!" Jaden drew his card, "Now, I'll play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards!" he quickly drew his new cards from his deck, "And they're sweet ones! I hope you like playing with bubbles, 'cause I'm summoning Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

As he placed the card on the field, Jaden's blue armored and caped Hero came to the field, water hose gloves aimed straight at Dimitri.

"Next, I'll play a Field Spell...one you might need a hardhat for," Jaden held up his disk and the end tray popped open. He tucked the card into it and let the tray close, "It's called Skyscraper!". Within moments, huge buildings of cement and windows broke out of the rocky earth around them and rose high into the sky.

"What the-?!" Dimitri gasped, looking at the change of scenery, "What's the meaning of these buildings??" he demanded.

"Their _meaning_ is to kick your butt, Dimitri!" Syrus yelled from the audience.

Jaden nodded, "That's right, because _here_, an Elemental Hero gains an extra 1000 attack points if it's weaker than the monster it's attacking!"

"But...that means...," Dimitri gulped.

"You're in trouble!" Jaden placed a card into a slot, "Especially when I add this, Bubble Blaster!" he watched as the huge water cannon appeared on Bubbleman's shoulder, "This thing packs a pop, too! 800 points worth! Plus, if Bubbleman ever gets attack, Bubble Blaster is destroyed and Bubbleman is safe!"

Bubbleman (1600/1200)

"Now, Bubbleman, let's use them!"

Bubbleman grunted and let loose a high pressured blast straight to the furball in front of him.

"Yay, Bubbleman!" Syrus cheered, "Clean that Kuriboh's clock!"

Dimitri only smiled as the blast came closer, "But _which_ Kuriboh?" he pressed a button on his disk, "I play the Spell card, Multiply! By sacrificing my Kuriboh, I'm allowed to summon Kuriboh Tokens that fill every empty space on my Monster Card Zone...," he shrugged as the four furball clones appeared, "Of course, your attack is still in play," he watched as one Kuriboh Token was blasted by the attack, "But it's significance has been deflated,"

"Watch out Jaden! His big furry balls are on the loose!"

Kairi, Siho, Syrus, Chumley, and Bastion all slowly turned to Christina who looked at them.

"What? What I say?"

Jaden winced, a little irritated that his attack didn't work, "Fine, I'll just end my turn by throwing down a facedown," he placed a card into a slot.

"Very well," Dimitri drew and looked at his card, then showed it to Jaden, "I'll throw _this_, the magical Card of Sanctity! This card allows us both to draw until we each have six cards in our hands," he explained.

Both duelists reached down and drew their six new cards from their decks as quick as possible.

Dimitri looked at his new hand, "Excellent, I drew the monster Watapon (200/300)!" he showed everyone an image of a cute little white ball of fluff, "If this card is added to my hand by way of Magic, Trap or Monster effect, I can summon him to the field," he placed the card onto the field and the little white ball with antennae appeared.

"Ooooh! Kawaii!" Christina and Kairi squealed together.

_Girls..._ mentally groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"But I'm afraid Watapon won't be here for long, because I'm going to sacrifice him to bring out...," Dimitri paused as his ball of fluff turned into an orb of light, and from that orb of light, a rather cute blonde woman with an outfit made of pink and blue material, and a short wand took it's place, "...the Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!!"

Jaden stared at the new monster in amazement, "Wow...she's even cuter in person!"

"She has beauty _and_ brawn," Dimitri told him, holding up his disk, "You see, for every Dark Magician in the Graveyard, she gains an extra 300 attack points!"

This was proven by a pink aura that appeared around the cute Spellcaster. She sighed happily as she was given the power boost.

DMG (2300/1700)

Dimitri pointed to Jaden, "While we're on the subject of Dark Magician, don't forget about this one! Dark Magician of Chaos, attack!" he commanded.

The black-clad Spellcaster launched another orb of magical energy that collided with Bubbleman's Bubble Blaster, destroying it completely. Luckily, as Jaden said, Bubbleman himself was still there.

Bubbleman (800/1200)

"And he started," Dimitri looked from the Dark Magican of Chaos to the Dark Magician Girl, "_She'll_ finish! Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning Attack!".

The female Spellcaster raised her short staff and fired a stream of purple flames that engulfed Bubbleman completely. When it subsided, he was gone from the field.

**D: 4000  
J: 800**

"The Heart of the Cards are indeed powerful, aren't they Jaden?"

Jaden wiped the end of his nose, smiling, "Alright, so you got me with a few good shots...now it's my turn!"

"_Your_ turn?" Dimitri repeated.

"Yeah, my turn," Jaden drew his next card, "And with the card I just drew, I'll be able to return the favor and then some. I fuse Avian (1000/1000) and Burstinatrix to create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

His friends cheered as the red and green, winged Hero appeared through a swirling vortex on the field. This was about to get good.

"But I'm not done," Jaden continued as he held up a card, "First, I play the Spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive! This lets me bring back a passed Warrior monster from the Graveyard...like Sparkman," he placed the card on the field and the blue and gold armored Hero joined Wingman's side, "Don't forget that Skyscraper's out so my Wingman gets an extra 1000 points in battle!"

Flame Wingman (3100/1200)

"3100 attack points? That means...," Dimitri's eyes widened at the power boost.

"Yep, it's enough to take down your Dark Magician. But since I have a soft spot for the girl, let's start with _him_!" he pointed to the Chaos Magician.

Flame Wingman held up his dragon-head arm and let loose a burst of fire. The ball hit the Chaos Magician hard in the chest, destroying him.

**D: 3700  
J: 800**

"Next, Flame Wingman's ability activates! He deals you damage equal to that of your destroyed monsters attack points!"

**D: 900  
J: 800**

"Take that, Yugi-Dimitri-whatever your name is!" Chumley cheered.

"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus cried, throwing his arms up and waving them around, "That's how ya duel!"

Jaden smiled at his accomplishment, "Awesome...I'm actually beating Yugi's deck!"

_Simply remarkable! _Bastion smiled _Dimitri is playing just as the King of Games would, but Jaden is playing competitively, winning even!_ Bastion turned to his attention to Jaden and his two Heroes, _He was overwhelmed at first by Yugi's deck, but he's managed to turn things around. Maybe one day, his deck will go on tour alongside Yugi's deck...if he manages to win it back that is..._

"Sparkman, attack with Spark Storm!"

The electric Hero gathered static energy in his hands, then with it, destroyed another Kuriboh Token, it's fur standing up on end before exploding.

"Next, I'll throw down two facedowns and use the Spell card, Emergency Provisions!" Jaden inserted a couple of cards into his disk, "Now by sacrificing one of those facedowns, I get back 1000 Life Points!"

**D: 900  
J: 1800**

"Sweet doncha think?" Jaden asked as a facedown disappeared, _But not as sweet as what's about to happen. I mean, one more attack and I'll have beaten the King of Game's deck!_

"Jaden!" Syrus called out to his friend, "He's all yours now!"

"You have _nothing_, my deck is prepared for all contingencies!" Dimtiri roared as he drew his card, "First, I'll place Dark Magician Girl into Defense Mode, then I play the Spell card, Spider Web!"

Jaden watched as the holographic card appeared and a white thread shot out of it and dove into his Graveyard.

"This Spell card allows me to take a card that was sent to your Graveyard last turn and place it in my hand," Dimitri explained as the thread snapped back to him, dropping the card into his fingers, "Soon it'll go straight into my Life Points because I chose Emergency Provisions! Next, I'll place two cards facedown and play the Spell card, Monster Reincarnation!"

_Oh boy...what's he gonna bring back? _Siho wondered, eyes glued to Dimitri's side.

"Next, I'll make three sacrifices...," Dimitri paused as his two facedowns and his Monster Reincarnation disappeared, "...which allows me to use Emergency Provisions!"

Siho groaned as the Life Point meter went higher up for Dimitri, "So much for the next move...,"

**D: 3900  
J: 1800**

"Finally, thanks to Reincarnation, I'll take back the Kuriboh I just lost," he held up the said card, "So, did you follow all of that?!"

"Not a word of it!" Syrus snapped.

"Well _I_ did, sweet moves," Jaden said as he drew a card, "But they won't save you from the Flame Wingman! Go, Wingman, attack with Skydive Scorcher!"

Dark Magician Girl let out a small cry before she was divebombed by the flaming Elemental Hero.

"Don't forget his power...he can deal damage to you equal to your monsters attack points!" Jaden reminded him.

Dimitri gasped as Flame Wingman landed in front of him, the dragon's mouth on his arm wide open. The Hero fired off a torrent of flame that completely covered Dimitri.

**D: 1600  
J: 1800**

"Burn baby burn...," Kairi sang quietly as she watched the move.

Dimitri slowly lifted his head as smoke rose from his Ra blazer, "Good thing I padded my Life Points last turn...," he murmured.

"Yeah, well good thing I still have a couple of attacks left," Jaden shot back, "I use the Spell card De-Fusion to split my Wingman back into Avian and Burstinatrix!"

Bastion watched as two more Heroes joined Sparkman on the field, "My...Jaden's more and more impressive with every turn! What skillful play! He now has three monsters to attack with seperately!"

"That's Jaden for ya," Christina grinned, putting her arms behind her head, "Always pulls something outta that skull of his...that's why we love 'im,"

"Now Avian, attack with Talon Tear!" Jaden ordered his winged Hero.

Avian leapt into the air and came down upon a Kuriboh Token, performing a roundhouse kick that sent it to the Graveyard.

"Burstinatrix, Flare Storm!"

The Heroine in red fired a volley of red-hot fireballs on the last Kuriboh Token, burning it to a crisp.

Siho breathed deeply and exhaled loudly, "Nothing like the aroma of a crispy Duel citter,".

"Now that's how ya duel!" Syrus said with a wide smile.

Chumley nodded, "Lishus! He just needs to attack one more time and he'll finish off Dimitri's Life Points!"

"Yes, and with Sparkman on the field, that will be right now," Bastion agreed.

Siho shook his head, "You're forgetting something you guys," he told.

They all looked at him, "What?"

The black haired Slifer looked at them all, "You honestly think Yugi's deck and a guy who thinks like Yugi is gonna down _this_ easy? Please...," he turned back to the duel, "Jaden still has a way to go,"

Syrus groaned, "Well think you what you want, I say Yugi's deck is about to be saved,"

Chumley nodded, "And Jaden will be one of the few people who beat it!"

"Go Sparkman, attack!" Jaden pointed to Dimitri, "Finish this!"

The electric Hero let loose another stream of crackling energy at the defenseless Copycat.

Dimitri chuckled as he held up a card, "Sorry, but I think you're forgetting about my friend, Kuriboh!"

Once again, the wingless version of the furball appeared on the field, between Dimitri and the oncoming blast of lightning, taking the attack head on.

"Told you...," Siho glanced at his friends, "He brought Kuriboh back to his hand when he comboed Monster Reincarnation and Emergency Provisions, remember?"

Jaden scratched his head as Siho's words reached his ears, "Oh yeah...my bad...,".

Dimitri looked at his Duel Disk, just as the spirit of Kuriboh appeared in front of him, "Thank you Kuriboh. That move reminds me of our duel against Seto Kaiba at Battle City...those were some good times, weren't they old friend?"

Kuriboh hooted nervously, a bead of sweat rolling down it's fur.

"Battle City?" Syrus stuck out his tongue, "This guy's gone batty!"

"Sy, just smile and nod, smile and nod," Chumley whispered.

"Now, let's continue this...for Kuriboh. His fall won't be in vain!" Dimitri cried as he drew his next card, "Perfect, the Heart of the Cards has served me again,"

Jaden gulped, _I got a bad feeling about this..._

"I remove one Light monster and one Dark monster from my Graveyard-,"

"Whoa! Pause and rewind!" Jaden interrupted, seeing Watapon and Kuriboh appear again before disappearing, "You're removing them?"

Syrus tilted his head, "I've never seen this...is it a summoning?"

Chumley shook his head, "Naw, can't be,"

_What could he be- _Bastion let out a gasp, "No, it is! That's exactly what he's doing! There are two monsters that can be summoned like this. Two rare monsters of such power, duelists have scoured the world looking for them...,"

"First one is called Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End (3000/2500)," Siho interjected, "A card with so much power, it's been banned in legal tournaments around the world. The second one has power comparable to the Emperor Dragon, but it's never been outlawed due to it's rarity. Some say, because it's so rare, there's a chance not a single copy exists anymore!"

Bastion turned to him, "So you've heard of these cards as well?"

"Of course...," Siho nodded, folding his arms, "I've heard about them because I've spent sometime looking for them. But I don't think Dimitri could have either one...especially that one that's never been outlawed,"

"Well you're wrong because," Dimitri held up his card, "I have one right _here_! Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!!"

Jaden watched, shocked as a very impressive warrior in dark blue armor with golden linings, a curved blade, and an almost triangular shield with the same coloring as it's armor appeared through the white vortex that ensnared the Watapon and Kuriboh.

"So Yugi _did_ have that card...I thought it was just a rumor!" he breathed, enthralled by the monster.

Dimitri smiled, "Well you're wrong. This monster has been a part of my deck for a long time. I only take him out for..._special _occasions," his smile disappeared, "Like now, Luster Blade attack!"

The powerful Warrior raised it's blade and in a flurry, stabbed the air, sending blurry copy images of it's blade across the field, striking and destroying Avian without mercy.

**D: 1600  
J: 800**

Jaden let out a small cry as the attack passed through him, "That hurt...,"

"_That_ was just the beginning," Dimitri chuckled, "Now, I'll show you the true power of this card. You see, if the Black Luster Soldier is able to destroy your monster in battle, he's allowed to attack again!"

"No way!" Jaden stepped back.

"Aw man...no wonder why these cards are outlawed!" Syrus whimpered.

Christina lowered her head, "Too bad too...this would make a kickass addition to my deck...,"

"And now, Black Luster Soldier, finish this!" Dimitri commanded, "Luster Blade Attack!"

Bastion shook his head as the powerful Warrior flew to Jaden again, "This is it, Jaden's Life Points can't take another hit!"

"It's over!" Dimitri laughed triumphantly.

"Not yet!" Jaden shouted, pressing a button, "I play the card Hero Spirit!".

Dimitri raised an eyebrow as Avian returned to the field and protected Burstinatrix from taking the hit, "What's this...?"

"It's not the end of the duel," Jaden explained, "Because if a Hero is destroyed and I play Hero Spirit, your attack damage goes to 0!"

Dimitri grunted at the twist, "Fine, I'll just finish this next turn. The Heart of the Cards will see to that!"

Jaden brushed his hand along his face, wiping the sweat off, _He may be right...his deck is just so powerful. I thought I could win, but now I just don't know_ he thought, looking away from the monster.

A glowing light from his deck made Jaden open his eyes to see Winged Kuriboh glaring up at him angrily.

"Winged Kuriboh...I'm sorry, but what can I do? He's got the Heart of the Cards on his side!"

Winged Kuriboh hooted angrily and flew from side to side, as if trying to smack some sense into his partner. The little spirit then turned and pointed to Dimitri.

"C'mon, Kuriboh!" Jaden looked at the Ra, "That's Yugi's deck he's using and-,"

That's when it hit him.

_Of course! **Yugi's** deck! That's Yugi's deck, so there's no way the Heart of the Cards is on Dimitri's side! The Heart of the Cards come from believing in your own cards, and not someone's you stole_ he thought, mentally slapping himself in the face for not realizing it sooner, _And I believe in my deck, so if the Heart of the Cards is on anyone's side, it's on mine!_

Jaden drew his card and looked up, smiling, "Sorry, Dimitri, but I believe!"

"What?" Dimitri looked confused.

The Slifer held up his new card, "I activate the Spell card, Silent Doom! This very handy card allows me to summon a monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode, and I choose the Elemental Hero Avian!" he watched happily as his feathered friend returned to the field, "Next, I play the magic card, Double Spell! By discarding one spell card from my hand, I can use one Spell card from my opponent's Graveyard!" he smiled, "If you need more info, it's under the heading 'How'd I lose?',".

"It sounds like Jaden's got something planned," Bastion mused, not even blinking.

_Oh...this is gonna be goooood _Siho grinned from ear to ear.

"So I'll discard this," Jaden plucked the last card in his hand and placed in the Graveyard slot, "Then I'll take your Polymerization from your Graveyard!"

Dimitri gasped as a light shined brightly on his disk, then watched as it stopped on Jaden's side of the field, turning into the mentioned Spell card.

"Now I'm gonna fuse my Burstinatrix and my Avian to create my deck's headliner one more time!" Jaden watched his two monsters become one again, "Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! Also, since my Skyscraper is still in play, he gains 1000 extra points! Now, Flame Wingman, attack Black Luster Soldier with Skydive Scorcher!".

The resurrected Hero leapt off his perch from the tallest building and dove right into the all-powerful warrior, blasting it to smithereens.

**D:1500  
J: 800**

"He's gone!" Dimitri cried, "My Luster Soldier is gone!"

"Don't flatter yourself," Jaden spat, "He was never _yours_ to begin with! Besides, if ya wanna worry about something, worry about Wingman's superpower! He makes it so you get dealt damage equal to your monsters attack points!"

**D: 0  
J: 800**

"That's game!" Jaden pumped his arm as Skyscraper disappeared, "And the end of you using that deck, Dimitri!"

The Ra fell to his knees, "I lost...even when I used my...," he shook his head as a few of the cards fell to the ground, "Yugi's cards," he whimpered, his voice normal now, "What's wrong with me? Why can't I ever win?!"

"The answer to _that_ is obvious...,"

Everyone turned to see Alexis, Jordan and Zane walk into view from around a large boulder.

Dimitri rose a little bit, "Hey...you're Zane...,"

"Big bro?" Syrus looked at the elder Truesdale.

"Why are you guys here?" Jaden asked the trio.

Zane glanced at him, "Why else? To see the deck, but it was gone,"

"We snuck into the exhibit hall, but all we found was broken glass. We knew the thief couldn't have gotten far so we searched," Alexis nodded to Jordan, "Luckily, we ran into my cousin here who said you guys might've found him, so he led us to where you were last and...," she shrugged, "Here we are,".

Zane nodded, "We came earlier, but didn't want to interrupt the duel,"

"Kind of you," Bastion smiled.

Jaden's eyes widened, "Wait, so you mean, you saw the whole thing? Me and Dimitri?!".

Zane smiled and looked upward behind the others, "Not just us...your duel drew quite an audience,"

Everyone in the group turned to see at least a dozen other students on the cliffs above them. From Slifer, Ra and Obelisk, a lot of people came around, drawn by the duel.

"Uh...hi!" Jaden waved at them as they clapped, "Glad you guys could make it!"

While Jaden absorbed the applause, Dimitri looked at Zane, "What now?"

The Kaiser shrugged slightly, "Well, the punishment for stealing has always been crystal clear: straight up expulsion. But, since everyone here enjoyed seeing Yugi's deck in a duel rather than in a display case, I doubt anyone will turn you in,"

"What difference does it make?" Dimitri looked at the ground, "I still lost...,"

Jaden chuckled, "You didn't lose...the person you were pretending to be did, Dimitri,"

"Yugi?" Dimitri frowned, looking up at him.

"No!" Jaden shook his head, "Believe me, you could _never_ be Yugi!"

"Then...who was I?"

"You were you...but you weren't. You see, when you copy someone, it's not like you're that person. You're you copying that person, ya know?" Jaden looked up, "Yeah that makes sense, right?".

Zane sighed, "I'll _attempt_ and try to explain what Jaden means, Dimitri. You'll never win unless you put yourself out there. That means you need to use your own deck, your own strategies, instead of piggybacking off someone elses. There is no amount of studying you can do, to be able to use someone else's deck as well as they can,"

"Yeah what he said," Jaden grinned, "That's exactly what I meant! No offense, Dimitri, but just because I beat you, doesn't mean I could be Yugi,".

"Although that would be so kickass...," Christina thought loudly, rubbing her chin.

"Imagine the tickets one could sell to that event," Kairi added, nodding.

Jaden hopped off the rock and walked over to Dimitri, then held out his hand, "Now about we put that deck where it belongs?".

"...ok...,"

-----

The next morning, the exhibit hall was filled with students that walked around, taking in the posters of Yugi and his deck itself. As Zane promised, no one reported Dimitri, so no one really got into trouble.

Jaden smiled as he, Chumley and Siho leaned against the wall, "It's good to see things get back to normal,"

Chumley nodded, "Well, as normal as things get around here," he turned to his friend, "So what's that you got here?" he asked, noticing a rolled up object in his hands.

Jaden chuckled as he unrolled it, "Check it out! A poster of Yugi Motou with his signature on it! Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Sure is...but you should know that when Dimitri was putting back the deck, the others said he was talking in the Yugi voice again and he even had a pen," Siho said, snatching the poster away and looking at it, "Yep...fake,"

Jaden snatched it back, "It might not be, how would you know?"

"Believe me, Yuki," Siho smiled confidently, "I was _raised_ on knowing about forgeries, theft, and lying. I know the craft,".

"Well if you know so much about lying, how do I know you're not lying right now?" Jaden challenged.

Siho shrugged, "I dunno, and it's not my problem,"

"Jaden! _Jaden_!"

All three Slifers turned to see Syrus running up to them, full speed.

"Waddup, Sy?" Siho greeted.

Syrus panted, trying to catch his breath, "It's Dimitri...he's at it again!"

"WHAT?!"

-----

The four Slifers ran through the woods until they came across Dimitri...only he didn't look like himself. He wore the same red blazer, had the same haircut, hell even the same pants as Jaden.

"I've been waiting for you...," he turned around and everyone got a good look at him.

Jaden facefaulted, "Dimitri, c'mon!"

"Who's Dimitri?" the Copycat asked them, "My name is Jaden, and I'm a Slifer Red. Now listen, we're going to duel, so turn you game on!"

While the other three fell over at those words, Jaden slapped himself in the face, "It's _get_ you game on! Say it right, geez!"

Dimitri whipped out a deck, "C'mon, we're gonna settle this right now! Let's throw-up...I mean...throw-down! C'mon, get your deck out, this is gonna be swell!" he then threw a pose that just made the others feel more uncomfortable.

"It's _sweet_!" Jaden snapped, "You're not even doing my pose right!"

"Well...how am I doing it wrong?" the Copycat asked him.

Syrus, Siho and Chumley sighed as Jaden began to give Dimitri pointers on how to correctly imitate him.

"Wish _I_ had a catch phrase...," Chumley murmured.

"I just wish we were outta here," Syrus added.

"Dude, I wish Christina finds that fake tarantula in her bed...,"

Before the others could ask him what he meant, an ear-peircing shriek ripped through the air. Siho grinned, "Waddya know, wishes can be granted,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: yeah, there we go! hehehe...Jaden whooped him good! That duel is done and now, we must move forward! catch ya later folks!**

**Next chapter: Kairi meets a student who she immediately crushes on, but she's not the only one who has a crush on a student...**

**ja ne!**


	31. Secret Slifer Crushes

**Secret Slifer Crushes**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The sun peeked over the horizon as the Academy's student body began to wake up and go through their normal routine. However, this day was going to be a strange one...

"Children, please quiet down, I have an announcement to make! Chumley, stop chewing with your mouth open!"

Banner paused as every Slifer in the mess hall stopped talking or chowing down on their breakfast before moving to the side, "Now everyone, please join me in welcoming a new transfer student," he paused again as a short boy wearing a large hat walked out from behind a counter and joined him by his side, "Blair Flannigan,"

Chumley looked at the new kid. He was shorter than even Syrus, had brown eyes, and he could see tufts of purple hair sticking out from under the cap.

"I had to stop chewing for a transfer student?"

Syrus sighed as he got a better look at the new kid. Besides the hat, Blair wore this gray pants that seemed too small for him, because they went well above the ankles.

"He's shorter than me, dresses goofier than me...," he lowered his head, "My sidekick days are over,"

Christina leaned to the side, into the aisle, still munching on her breakfast as she looked at the new arrival, "Well if you feel that way, Syrus," she gulped down her toast, "You can always be my sidekick," she offered.

"Oh great, as if Truesdale hasn't suffered enough already," Siho cracked, earning a slugging from his best friend.

"Aw be nice, you guys!" Jaden rose up from his seat between Chumley and Syrus, "Blair welcome to S-L-I-F-...uh...something, Slifer!" he half-yelled, raising his arms to the ceiling.

Christina, Kairi, Blair and Siho practically gagged at Jaden's display of a welcoming to the dorm.

Either not noticing their reaction, or just ignoring them, Jaden ran from his table up to Blair.

"This is the best dorm on campus, I mean, sure we're not a bunch of snobby, uptight, egghead straight-A gettin' brainiacs, but still-,"

"Jaden, wait a moment...," Banner interrupted him, "You don't understand,"

Jaden grinned as he pulled the small boy to him, "What's not to understand, Professor Banner? I'm just...,"

Blair wrenched himself free of Jaden and hid behind Banner, peeking out at the others.

"Trying...to make...Blair...feel at home,"

Banner sighed, "But you see, this _isn't_ Blair's home, as least not for long. Nearly all of his entrance exam scores were perfect,"

"Oooh...,"

"You see Jaden, it is policy that when a transfer student comes to Duel Academy, they _must _start out in Slifer Red," Banner explained slowly, "But with Blair's test scores, he'll most likely advance to Ra Yellow in just a few days,"

Jaden scoffed, "Yeah, right! Next, you'll probably tell me he'll be in our dorm because of all the extra space!" he turned to his fellow Slifers still wearing that silly grin of his, "I love this guy!"

Chumley and Syrus nodded in agreement, "Good one!"

"Well, I was going to move him into Siho's room, seeing as he's the only one in there, but since you three are alright with it...," he looked down at the smaller boy, "Blair, meet your new roommates," he pointed to the three Slifers.

Siho chuckled softly, "He wouldn't have lasted one night in my room anyway," he said quietly, taking a drink of his juice.

"Why?" Kairi turned to him, "What makes you think that?"

"Because...," he popped a piece of candy into his mouth, followed by more juice, "Five minutes in there and he would be running out, screaming his lungs out and crapping his pants,"

"Well, yeah, we all would too if we had to see you dancing around in your underwear at one point or another,"

_WHAP!_

Tears rolled down Christina's face as a bump formed on her head.

-----

Kairi put her arms behind her head as she and her fellow Slifers, along with numerous Ras and Obelisks stood in the main greeting hall. After breakfast had ended, they were all supposed to meet here for a special announcement, but she didn't really care. She only cared about one thing...or rather one person.

Looking at the Obelisk group, she scanned the crowd for a few moments before finding him.

-Flashback-

_Kairi glared up at the red-haired Obelisk girl who had pushed her down, causing her cards to go everywhere. She had just opened up a pack of cards from the shop when she ran into the girl. She apologized, but the girl didn't really care._

_"Look, I said I was sorry, what more do you want?"_

_The Obelisk girl smiled nastily and planted her small heeled boot on Kairi's hand, "I could use those cards you got with ya,"_

_"Screw you, these are mine and I'll be damned if I'm gonna give it to some blue bimbo!" Kairi hissed, shoving the boot off, "Why don't you go find a guy you could spend a half-hour in a closet with, I'm sure he'll give you all the cards you want after that!"_

_The girl glared at her, "You watch your tongue, Slifer! I'm higher in rank and better than you in every way, so show some respect!"_

_"Hey...Cynthia,"_

_"What?!"_

_Turning around, the Obelisk girl saw a fellow Obelisk walk to her. He was a little taller than her, long straight violet hair that seemed to meet his shoulders, and had dark brown eyes._

_"Kristerr, I'm a little busy here!" the girl, Cythia hissed, glaring at Kairi who was busy trying to round up her cards._

_The boy jerked his thumb to the way he came, "I came lookin' for ya. Someone screwed your room up and-,"_

_"WHAT?! NO ONE TOUCHES MY ROOM!"_

_Screaming obsceneties, Cynthia did a 180 turn and ran down the hall, pushing random students out of her way._

_Kristerr shook his head, then bent down and started to help Kairi pick up her cards, "Sorry about her. She can be real...," he shook his head, "Well I can't find the word for it,"_

_"Bitchy?" Kairi offered._

_"Ok, that'll work," Kristerr looked at a card on the floor and picked it up, "Hmm...what kind of deck do you run...uh...what was your name?"_

_"Kairi...Kairi Lumina, and I run a Dark/Fiend theme,"_

_Kristerr nodded and held out the card, "I'd put this in it if I were you,"_

_Kairi raised an eyebrow as she took the card, "Uh...it's kinda weak...," she pointed out._

_"Don't worry about it," Kristerr stood up, running his hand through his hair, "I'm sure that'll help you in more ways than just attacking," he turned and started walking away, "I'll catch you later, Kairi Lumina,"_

_Kairi got to her feet, tucking the rest of her cards in her pocket, "Wait! I didn't get your name!"_

_"Yeah you did!" he turned, walking backwards, "Kristerr!"_

_The Slifer girl stood there before looking back at the card._

_"Versago the Destroyer...," she shrugged and placed it into her deck case, "Alright, if you say so...,"_

-End Flashback-

_Kristerr..._ Kairi sighed, looking at the tall Obelisk.

She looked at him for a few moments until he frowned, and turned his head slightly, seeing her stare at him.

Blushing, Kairi let out a squeak and turned away, _Ok...what just happened?_

**"Settle down everyone...Chumley, stop chewing with your mouth open!"**

Surprised, Kairi looked up at the monitor to see Chancellor Shephards image smiling at them. She shook her head slightly, "Man, I gotta quit zoning out,"

**"Now, everyone. For those who don't know, there is a big match coming up between us and our rival, North Academy. Last year, our very own Zane Truesdale whooped them good, and this year we hope to do the same...,"**

Blair looked away from the monitor, towards Zane. Kairi noticed this and smiled, _Hero worship, here we come..._ she thought, _Hey...Blair looks alot like Kristerr! _she realized, glancing back and forth from the Slifer and Obelisk, _I wonder if they're brothers?_

Syrus noticed Blair looking at Zane leaned over, "Hey, Blair, didja know that Zane's my big brother?" he whispered.

"Really?" Blair turned to him, eyes wide in surprise.

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, he's pretty cool, but Mom says _I_ got the looks," he said casually with a shrug.

A snicker was heard behind him, "Hate to break it to ya, but I don't think she actually meant that," Siho whispered.

**"Now, we're still debating on who will be representing us at the School Duel, as we've come to call it. So, if you keep hitting those books and duel hard, you may be the one who gets the honor,"**

Christina shook her head as the monitor turned from Shephard's face to the academy insignia, "Great, just what we need, more pressure," she muttered.

"Alright! Hear that?" Jaden half-shouted, coming between Blair and Syrus, "It could be me!"

Syrus huffed and folded his arms, "Or it could be me, but let's face it, Jaden...," he glanced at his older brother, "It'll probably be Zane,"

"How come?" Jaden asked, looking at the older Truesdale.

"Because he's amazing...," Blair said quietly and Jaden could swear he saw his face turn a little red.

-----

"Amazing?" Jaden scratched his head as he and his friends walked into the courtyard after the assembly, "It's not about being amazing, it's about being the best!"

"He _did_ beat you in a duel, Jay," Syrus reminded him.

Christina nodded, "True, true...although, I gotta admit, it was close,"

"That's true too...," Syrus added as the rest of them came to a sudden stop.

Up ahead, Blair was running just out of sight behind a large pillar.

"What's the new kid doing?" Christina wondered aloud.

Jaden frowned, something wasn't feeling quite right.

He took off running, with Siho close behind him.

"What the-? Where are you guys going!" Syrus yelled after them.

Jaden, still a little surprised that Siho was tailing him, turned and waved back at their friends, "We just gotta check something out!"

_Got that right Yuki..._ Siho thought as he slowly passed Jaden as they ran.

-----

Blair eased his way across a long, thick tree branch that ended just over a balcony at the Obelisk Blue dorm. Quickly and quietly, he jumped off and made his way into the room. Little did he know, he was being watched.

_First Blair makes that weird comment about Zane, now he's sneaking into the Obelisk Blue dorm...something's not adding up_ Jaden turned to ask Siho what Blair might be doing, but was surprised to see that his fellow Slifer wasn't there.

He turned back to see Siho was already climbing up the tree with ease and grace. He blinked and scratched his head, "Uh...,"

After climbing the tree, both Slifers entered the dorm room Blair had entered and they both stood there in silence as they watched Blair practically cuddle with a deck case close to his face.

"What is he doing...?" Jaden whispered.

"I dunno...but if this room belongs to who I think it does, I'm gonna have yaoi nightmares for weeks," Siho gagged as he backed away to the railing, "C'mon, let's just-,"

"C'mon guys, let's get upstairs,"

Siho turned and looked down to see Zane and a trio of other Obelisks approaching the dorm building. He ran back into the room where Blair was still cuddly with the deck, "Jaden, we gotta book, right now! Zane's coming!"

Blair jumped at the sudden voice and stared at the other two Slifers, "Where'd you two come from?"

"Well, you see when a mommy and daddy love each very much they tend to f-,"

"It doesn't matter, we gotta go!" Jaden interrupted, "If you are caught here, you will get booted out for trespassing!" he urged.

Siho glanced at the door as different voices and laughs were heard from the other side. He turned to the other two and shook his head, "Screw this, every man for himself!" he yelped before running out of the room and leaping off the balcony. Shortly after, a small high-pitched gasp was heard.

Jaden gulped and grabbed Blair's hand, "I'll explain later, we just gotta get outta here!" he hissed, pulling hard on the smaller boy's hand.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. Blair let out a gasp as his hat fell to the floor and a loud click filled the air. Jaden turned to see Blair's hair became very long and a frightened look came to his face.

He gaped, "You...you're...you're uh...," he stopped and watched as Blair grabbed the hat and ran out, leaping onto the branch before sliding down the tree to escape, "Uh...outta here, I guess," he finished, running for the tree branch as well.

"Hey, you! What are you doing here?!"

_Oh crap..._

Meanwhile, Siho groaned as he slowly sat up.

_That...was a stupid idea..._ he thought as he leaned back against the tree. He had jumped out of the balcony window, and would've made it into the bush below, but something got between him and the bush. Or rather, something got between his legs on the way down.

"This...sucks...majorly...,"

-----

That night, Alexis and Jordan both walked along the dock, headed straight for the lighthouse where Zane stood, as if waiting for them.

"Wow, a cold, wet dock in the middle of the night...you sure do know how to show a girl a good time, Zane," Alexis said sarcastically as she and her cousin approached.

Zane ignored the sarcasm, "Lex, I caught Jaden in my room earlier today," he said quietly.

"Jaden?" Jordan repeated, "What would Hero boy be doing in your room, Kaiser?"

Also ignoring the nickname, Zane held out an open palm, showing them a wooden barrette with a cute Duel Monster on it, "I dunno, but check this out,"

Alexis eyed the piece of jewelry and turned to her friend, "That's a _girl's_ hairclip...," she said slowly.

"Yeah, why show us this?" Jordan asked, snatching the clip away, "Unless...," he smirked slightly, "You're secretly a crossdresser and you're coming out to Alexis in order to get fashion tips!"

_WHAP! WHAP!_

Both Zane and Alexis lowered their fists as Jordan fell into the water.

"Oh c'mon, that's not cool!"

-----

Christina entered her dorm room, her arms full with new booster packs and a smile on her face. Kairi looked up from her manga book and stared at her roommate, "Don't you ever run out of card money?" she asked.

"With Duel Monsters, money is no object!" Christina giggled, dropping the cards onto her bunk.

Kairi smiled, then went back to reading, "Somehow I'd think that's what Kaiba himself used to say when he tried to beat Yugi over and over again. Anyway, the store should be closed by now, how'd you get a haul like that?"

"Well, I managed to catch Miss Dorothy just before closing time and got as many as I could with the money I had on me," Christina plopped down into her seat, "One thing that always got me bugged about Seto Kaiba was that he was obsessed with beating Yugi. I swear, that boy needed a life back then,"

"I think he did, Chrissy,"

"Yeah well...," the brunette Slifer noticed a card on the floor and picked it up, "I guess all he needed was to get laid," she murmured, earning a surprised look from her roommate.

She looked at the card and raised an eyebrow, "Versago the Destroyer...huh...,"

Kairi leapt up from her seat and snatched the card away, "That's _my_ card,".

"Ok ok ok...," Christina held up her hands, "Calm down, I didn't know! Geez...," she shook her head, "Why are you getting so worked up over a card?"

"Frankly, Chrissy, it's none of your damn business," Kairi stuck out her tongue and tucked the card back into her deck case.

Christina couldn't help but stare at her roommate, surprised at her behavior.

_Uh...did I miss something?_

-----

"Found 'em!"

Chumley, Syrus and Siho lay on the overhead cliff, looking down at Jaden and Blair below them.

Siho winced as he adjusted his position, _I gotta start wearing a protective cup..._

"What do you think they're talking about down there?" Syrus asked his large friend.

Chumley shrugged, "I dunno, but it must be pretty serious,"

"Oh it's serious, Chumley...I know what they're talking abo-,"

Syrus sighed sadly, interrupting Siho, "I knew it, he's found a new best pal to hang around with," he lowered his head, "Guess my sidekick gig is over...,"

"That's _not_ it, Syrus,"

All three Slifers turned to see Alexis, Zane, and a soaked Jordan walk up to them, Jordan having a couple of lumps on his head.

"Why not, Kaiser?" Siho grunted, the pain still bothering him.

"Because, Zolaro," Zane looked at him, "Blair's not really a guy, _she's_ a girl. Obelisk Blue security cams caught her sneaking around in my room with Jaden and someone else...," he looked away, "But we couldn't tell who it was,"

_He's lying, he knows it was me, but what ain't he telling the others? _Siho pondered before shaking his head _What the hell am I doing, complaining?!_

"What the camera's _didn't_ show is why Blair went through the trouble," Alexis added, looking at the two people below.

Syrus looked thoughtful as he looked down at his friend, "Wonder how Jaden plans to solve that mystery?"

"DUEL!"

Siho shook his head as he heard both Blair and Jaden yell, "You just _had_ to ask, Truesdale...you just had to ask,"

-----

**B: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Time to throwdown!"

"Alright!" Blair drew her card, "Get ready to fall in love!" she placed a card onto her disk, "I summon Maiden in Love (400/300)!"

Jaden watched as a young girl with long brown hair and a flowing yellow dress came to the field.

"Ok...my turn," he drew his card and looked at his hand, "So many choices, but I think I'll go with this one!" he slapped one card onto his disk, "Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000)!"

The feathered Hero appeared on the field between Jaden and the Maiden.

**(A/N: hey, that rhymed! woot!)**

"Attack with Quill Cascade!" Jaden ordered as soon as his monster arrived.

Avian beat his wings hard and sent his quills down onto the Maiden, who seemed to gasp in both surprise and pain before falling down.

**B: 3400  
J: 4000**

Blair looked up, "You may have broken her heart, Jaden, but she lives to love again! You see, as long as she's in Attack Mode, her ability keeps her from being destroyed in battle!"

A soft hooting grabbed Jaden's attention. The Slifer turned to see his furry friend floating beside him.

"Hey Winged Kuriboh, waddup?"

The winged furball pointed to the field ahead and Jaden turned, only to see Avian kneeling beside the Maiden.

"What's going on?"

**_"My...my lady, are you alright?"_** Avian asked the poor Maiden.

**_"Maybe, maybe not," _**she replied, looking away sheepishly.

Jaden stepped back, "WHAT?!" he shrieked, surprised at what his monster was doing, "C'mon, Avian, pull yourself together! You're supposed to be in Attack Mode, not in love!"

-----

"Looks like we've got some competition," Syrus murmured to Chumley, who was also looking on at the Maiden.

"Well, it looks like I might lose my dinner because of all of this crap," Siho gagged.

-----

"My monster is head over heels, could it get any worse?" Jaden asked, staring at the field.

Blair smiled, "It could...," she said in a singsong voice, "You see, my Maiden has another effect. Which ever monster attacks her, gets a Maiden Counter!" she explained as her Maiden blew a kiss towards Avian, who blushed as a small pink heart appeared on his chest.

"What's a Maiden Counter?" Jaden inquired.

She wagged a finger, "You'll find out...," she replied in the same voice, "Moving on however," she drew her next card and looked at her hand, then inserted a card into the slot beneath her monster, "I play the Equip card Cupid's Kiss to my Maiden!"

Both players and their audience watched as a small cherub with a bow flew into view and kissed the Maiden on the cheek.

"Now...," she pointed to Jaden, "I'll have her attack!"

The Maiden ran out to the other side of the field,**_ "Oh Mister Avian Hero, come out come out wherever you are! I wanna give you a hug_,"**she called out.

Avian, surprised by what she was doing, stepped aside and watched as the Maiden fell to the ground. She slowly sat up and looked at him sadly, **_"Why did you do that?" _**she took her face into her hands and began to cry, **_"You're so mean!"_**

**_"My Lady..._," **Avian knelt down, **_"Please accept my apologies,"_**

The Maiden smiled and blew a kiss at him, **_"Ok," _**with the help of the Hero, she climbed to her feet, **_"Now, will you do me a little favor?"_** she asked timidly.

**_"Anything, my Lady,"_**

**_"Good, see him?"_** she pointed to Jaden, **_"Take him down!"_**

**_"At once!"_** Avian leapt into the air and blew his wings hard at Jaden, sending near invisible air-blades at him.

Jaden covered his face as the attack ripped through him, "Avian! Snap out of it!" he yelled over the noise, "Can't you see she's totally just using you?!"

Blair giggled as Avian came to her area, alongside the Maiden, "Sorry Jaden, but when my Maiden takes damage from a monster that has a Maiden Counter, the Equip Spell Cupid's Kiss activates! That allows me to take control of one your monster, and sure, it costs me some Life Points, but it's about to cost _you _alot more!"

**B: 2800  
J: 3000**

She looked through her hand and picked a card from it, "Well, since I've taken control of your only monster, I'll place this card facedown and end my turn," she said, inserting the card into her disk slot.

"Man...Avian's fallen in love and I'm falling behind!" Jaden drew his next card and looked at it.

_Sparkman..._ he looked back at the field, _If I attack, he'll fall for Maiden just like Avian did! Still, I gotta do something..._

"I summon the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in Attack Mode!" he declared, slapping the monster onto the disk.

He shook his head as his electrified Hero appeared, "I hate to do this, Avian, but you're either with me or against. Sparkman, attack Avian with Static Shockwave!" he ordered.

Blair pressed a button on her disk as the electrical assault approached Avian, "I don't think so! I play the Trap card Defense Maiden!"

To Jaden's and Avian's surpise, the Maiden in Love stepped in just as the blast came and took the full hit.

"See? It redirect Sparkman's attack from Avian to my Maiden, so that she gets hit instead of Avian," Blair explained as her points went down, "And you know what that means...,"

**B: 1600  
J: 3000**

The Maiden fell to her knees after taking the hit, crying.

Avian knelt down beside her again, glaring at his fellow Hero, **_"Sparkman, you dare attack a defenseless Maiden? For shame, Sparkman, for shame!"_** he scolded.

Sparkman clutched his helmet, apparently distraught at what he had done to the girl, **_"You're right, I'm so sorry!" _**he apologized to the Maiden, **_"Please, forgive me! I'll do anything, anything!"_**

**_"Anything?"_** the Maiden looked at him, **_"Well, I can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure something will come to mind later,"_** she said, winking at him.

Sparkman stepped back, overjoyed, **_"Just say the word and it is done, my darling!"_** he cried, a small pink heart appearing on his chest.

While Jaden groaned, Blair smiled.

"Believe me, Jaden, she will now that he has a Maiden Counter...,"

-----

Syrus smiled as he and Chumley looked down at the Maiden, "I want one! How do I get a Maiden Counter?"

"Yeah me too, I want one too!" his large friend nodded in agreement.

"Uh...guys, you _do _realize that she's just a card, right?" Alexis asked them slowly.

Zane chuckled, "Try and remember who you're talking to, Lex," he murmured, "When we were growing up, Syrus kept saying he was going steady with the Dark Magician Girl,"

Siho's head dropped, his body shaking with laughter at the news. He lifted his head, his face bright red and turned to Syrus.

"Y-you...s-s-said that you and she...were s-steady?" he wheezed.

"Aw, what's the matter, Sy, did she break your heart?" Alexis asked teasingly, "Or did you decide to see other monsters?"

Syrus glared at his brother, "Oh great, thanks, Zane, now I'll never hear the end of it!"

-----

"Alright, here I go!" Blair drew her card, "I activate the Equip Spell card, Happy Marriage! Now my Maiden gains as many Attack Points as Avian has...that is, if Avian says 'I do' of course!"

The Maiden changed her wardrobe from her yellow dress to that of a white wedding dress with flowers on it. She took hold of Avian's arm and looked up at him.

**"_Of course I will,"_** Avian swore as he took her arm into his.

Maiden (1400/300)

"Now, let's have her pay a visit to Sparkman!"

The Maiden ran to Sparkman, who dodged her move, causing her to trip, and Blair's points go down a little more.

**B: 1400  
J: 3000**

**_"Sparkman, how could you do that? You said you would do anything for me!" _**she whimpered, sobbing into her hands.

Sparkman immediately went to her aide, **_"You right, I'm sorry! Command me, my love!"_**

**_"That's better!"_**

**_"What is your wish?" _**Sparkman asked, rising to his feet.

**_"I wish...,"_** she pointed to Jaden, **_"That you'd beat up that mean boy over there!"_**

**_"With pleasure!" _**Sparkman turned to Jaden and fired off a stream of electricity.

Jaden yelled as the powerful strike hit him in the chest.

**_"What are you waiting for, Hubby?" _**the Maiden glanced at Avian.

**_"Yes my dear!" _**Avian beat his wings and soon the air blasts combined with the electrical arcs, causing more damage to Jaden.

Happy at her progress, Blair took off her hat and untied her bandanna, letting her long hair fall.

She sighed happily, "I'm sorry, but you can't beat me, Jaden. I'm dueling for love!"

**B: 1400  
J: 600**

-----

"For love?" Zane frowned, "Doesn't mean she's dueling _with_ love?"

Alexis rolled her eyes, "Oh c'mon, you mean you haven't figured it out yet? Think about it Zane," she held up some fingers, "She puts on a disguise, tricks her way into our school, and breaks into _your_ room?"

Syrus' face turned into that of surprise as it came together, "_She's _in love!"

"Big time," Alexis turned back to the duel, "And she's in love with you, Zane,"

-----

Winged Kuriboh hooted to his partner as Jaden rose to his feet after the double strike.

"Yeah, you're right. Playing two guys against a girl was stupid, but hey, nothing can be done about it now," he shrugged as he drew. He looked at his card, then his hand, "Of course! It's so obvious! If I'm gonna take on that Maiden in Love, I'm gonna need a woman's touch and I have just the one. I summon the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800)!"

Sparkman and Avian both seemed to panic as the fiery Heroine came to Jaden's side of the field, not looking very happy.

**_"Uh...I know this looks bad...," _**Avian started.

**_"Save it! You two are pathetic,"_** Burstinatrix stopped him, **_"But your honeymoon is just about over!"_**

Both Heroes stepped back as flame surround Burstinatrix's form. This wasn't good for either of them.

**_"We're in for it now...,"_** Sparkman whimpered.

Jaden stared at his two Heroes, then at his Heroine, "Way to go, Burstinatrix!" he took a card from his hand, "Time to get our monsters back. I play the Spell card Burst Return! When Burstinatrix is on the field, this card lets me bring back all other Elemental Heroes to my hand!"

As he placed the card into his slot, the little pink hearts on Sparkman's and Avian's chests disappeared and they shook their heads, as if they were coming out of a trance.

**_"What was I thinking?"_** Avian clutched his head, **_"I didn't want to get married!"_**

**_"Oh, Sparkwoman will never forgive me if she found out!" _**Sparkman followed suit and held his head in despair.

The two Heroes looked at each other, **_"Guy pact: this never happened!"_** they said together.

**_"How about you two guys get over here or I'll tell the entire deck!"_** Burstinatrix snapped angrily at them.

Both Heroes nodded and disappeared from the field, then appeared back into Jaden's hand.

"Alright, now that I got my two monsters back, it's time for a little payback!" Jaden placed a card into a spare slot, "I play Polymerization to fuse my Burstinatrix with my Avian to fuse and create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

Jaden smiled as his faithful headliner appeared, "Now _that's_ the perfect couple and _this_," he paused as Flame Wingman lifted it's dragon-head arm, "is the perfect attack! Infernal Rage!"

The Maiden screamed as flames engulfed her, and Blair covered her head as the leftover fire ripped past her monster and wrapped around her.

**B: 0  
J: 600**

"That's game," Jaden turned off his disk, "Thanks for the sweet duel, Blair,"

Blair sighed and looked at him, "Alright, guess I hafta tell you my secret then,"

Jaden shook his head, "Nah, I already learned a lot during the duel," he smiled, looking past her, "and I think our spectators learned something as well,".

Feeling very nervous, Blair slowly turned her head around to see Zane, Alexis, Siho, Syrus, Chumley and Jordan standing a short ways behind her.

Alexis smiled and glanced at the Kaiser, "Sure did. Love is on her mind Zane...,"

Blair got to her feet quickly, "Zane, you're here!" she blushed a little, "I guess you know...I'm the one who snuck into your dorm room," she lowered her head embarassed, "I've been in love with you ever since I first met you,"

"Oh great, a pipsqueak stalker," Siho threw his hands in the hair, "Is there anybody that this place doesn't attract?!"

Zane ignored the outburst and nodded at Blair, "At the Nationals...,"

"That's right!" Blair lifted her head, "It was right after you won the Championship match, and right then, I made a pledge that I would do anything to be with you!"

"Stalker...," Siho let out a fake cough, "Stalker,"

"I remember you said that if I trained really, really hard, I can get into Duel Academy like you, and I did!" Blair smiled widely and held out her arms, "Now that I'm here, we can get married!"

Siho snickered and patted Zane on the back, "While congratulations are in order, I know there are some major laws against this marriage, so just watch ya back,"

Jaden laughed as well, "Get married that's a good one! Your honeymoon-,"

"Will be the most disturbing day of my life," Siho interrupted.

"-can be in the cafeteria and Dr Crowler can give you away!"

"Oh, what do you know? Guy who looks like girl, gives away girl who looks like a guy," Siho waved a hand, "Cosmic,"

Blair looked at Siho and Jaden, "I'm not joking...,".

Alexis smiled slightly at her, "Blair, sweety, love doesn't work like that. You can't sneak your way into someone's heart," she nodded to her deck, "Just look what happened to your Maiden. She used tricks to get love-,"

"Like most women,"

_WHAP!_

"-and she ended up alone and in tears," Alexis continued as Jordan slugged Siho upside the head, "You can't use spells and disguises to find your soulmate, Blair. You have to be honest and upfront with them,"

"Yeah right! You just want Zane for yourself!" Blair snapped and gave her the evil eye, "You're trying to get rid of me!"

Alexis smiled nervously and backed away, "Zane, a little help please?"

The Obelisk stepped forward, "Blair, as flattered as I am by your affections, right now I'm in love with only one thing: dueling,"

"Dueling?" Blair asked as Zane took something out of his pocket.

He took her hand and placed the barrette she had lost in his room into her open palm, "I'm sorry, but it's time for you to go home,"

Jaden stepped between them as tears came to Blair's eyes, "Hold on, why does she have to go home? Because you said so? Hello!" he waved a hand in front of Zane's face, "She's a student here at Duel Academy and a good one!"

Zane closed his eyes, smiling abit, "Jaden, she has to go home because she's in second grade,"

"Say...what?" Jaden slowly turned and stared at Blair.

"_Second grade?!_" Syrus, Chumley and Jordan shouted while Siho smirked, shaking his head.

Jaden held his head, "Are you saying I almost lost to an eight-year old?!"

Blair stuck out her tongue and smiled, "Eight and a half, if that makes you feel better!"

The brunette Slifer fell to the ground, laughing hysterically.

-----

The next day, they all stood at the docks, watching Blair get on board and to wish her _bon voyage_.

"Goodbye, you guys!" she called out, waving to them, "I'll be back just as soon as I finish grade school...and middle school too, but I'll be back!"

Jaden laughed and looked over his shoulder, "Ya hear that, Zane?"

"Please," the Kaiser scoffed, "By the time that happens, I'll be long gone,"

"Well, that's true," Jaden turned back to see the boat move offshore, "I guess Blair's crush ends here, huh?"

Zane chuckled, "Don't be so sure...,"

"Goodbye Jaden, my sweet prince! I love you!" Blair yelled from the boat, making Jaden feel sick to his stomach.

"She's supposed to like Zane!" he hissed, turning to Alexis, who was holding back a giggle.

"She _does _like Zane, but apparently she loves _you_,"

Zane chuckled and walked away, "Good luck with that, Jaden,"

Syrus and Chumley started to follow him.

"Hey, Chumley, wanna go to the store and get some new cards?" he asked innocently.

"Yeah, I got one in mind...," the large Slifer murmured.

Alexis rolled her eyes as Siho and Jordan followed her, leaving Jaden by himself, "Do me a favor boys, and stay away from the girls in _my _deck,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: there's that one. -sighs- this had to be one the most embarassing episodes for the Heroes of Jaden's deck...hehehe. ja ne, guys!**


	32. Hero vs Brainiac Part One

**Hero vs Brainiac Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Keep it moving fellas, keep it moving!"

Dorothy clapped her hands as about a dozen workers ran by, carrying boxes and trunks from the boat's cargo area to the loading dock. She pointed to two different sides, "Booster packs go there and starter decks go there you guys!"

She was about to yell something out again, but a noise made her stop. She turned and looked down at the waves that crashed along the side below. She could've sworn that she had heard something, but it must've been her imagination.

Shrugging, she turned back to see the workers had stopped moving the boxes and were now looking at her.

"C'mon, I didn't say it was break time!" she clapped her hands again, "Move it, move it, move it!"

If she _had_ kept looking down at the water, she would've noticed a dark form moving underneath the waves. The figure made it's way past the docks and towards a bed of large rocks. When it came close enough, the figure breached the surface and pulled itself onto the nearest rock.

The figure was that of a tall man with long hair tied in a ponytail, his wetsuit glistening with the salt water. As he climbed onto the rock, he pulled off his snorkel and looked up towards the building that occupied the center of the island.

He smiled as he looked on at the building, "There it is, the scoop of a lifetime: Duel Academy," he began to take off the wetsuit, eyes never leaving the building, "Now let's go see what kinda dirt I can dig up on the story that will make me my fortune," he laughed.

-----

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Crowler slammed his hands down on the oval table where he, Banner, Chancellor Shephard, and other major faculty members were meeting.

"The School Duel between Duel Academy and North Academy is the biggest match of the year!" Crowler shrieked, "We can take no chances, so it's _clear _that," he waved a hand towards Zane who stood nearby, "Zane should be our rep!"

Shephard nodded, "Zane _is_ our best student, but he's a third year student and I've recieved word that North Academy will be using a first-year,"

"Why would they do _that_?" Crowler demanded.

The Headmaster shrugged, "Who knows, but in the spirit of competition I think _we_ should use a first-year student as well," he turned to the school's Kaiser, "You understand, don't you, Zane?"

Zane nodded, "Of course, Chancellor,"

Chuckling, Shephard turned back to his fellow faculty members, "Good. Now the only question is who this first-year should be,"

Before anyone could say anything, Zane folded his arms and closed his eyes.

"Jaden Yuki,"

That thought made Shephard look at him, intrigued while it made Crowler cringe at the idea.

Banner nodded as he petted Pharaoh, "I agree, Jaden is our best new student," he looked down at his furry friend, "Don't you agree?"

Pharaoh only mewled.

Crowler rolled his eyes and threw his arms up, "Oh, well if the _cat_ says so...,"

"Chancellor," Zane turned to the bald headmaster, "Jaden will make Duel Academy proud, trust me,".

Shephard looked at him for a few moments, then nodded, "Alright then, it's decided...unless someone has any other suggestions?" he looked at his colleagues.

Crowler grit his teeth at the thought of Jaden representing them in the School Duel, _Jaden Yuki...that Slifer Slacker! Everytime he does well, he makes **me** look bad! There has to be someone else..._

At that moment, a smile spread across his face, "Wait! Of course, Bastion Misawa!" he cried, "_He _should represent us!"

"From Ra Yellow?" Shephard looked at him curiously.

"Oh yes!" Crowler climbed onto the table and scootched his way toward his superior, "He's far more qualified, his test scores are higher than any other first-year," he reached Shephard and leaned forward, "It's only fair...,"

Leaning far back in his chair away from Crowler, Shephard slowly turned to Zane, "How about a duel-off then?" he offered, "

Zane could only smile as a response.

-----

After infiltrating the building, and dodging groups of students and staff, the man from the ocean snuck into a nearby locker room and began to dig through the first unlocked one he could find. He smiled as he pulled out a large Slifer Red blazer

"Gotta blend in somehow," he snickered, taking off his black jacket and pulling the blazer over his blue shirt.

-----

"For real?"

"Dude, that's messed up,"

"That's frickin' awesome!"

Banner smiled and nodded as he heard Christina, Siho and Jaden reply to the news he had told the class, "Yes, Jaden you will be dueling Bastion in a duel off to see who will be representing us in the School Duel against North Academy,"

Jaden turned and looked up at Bastion, who was sitting a couple of rows behind him. The Ra looked down at him and the two of them smiled, both of them eager at the idea.

"I look forward to an exciting match," Banner told them before heading back to his desk.

"Me too...," Christina looked at them and leaned back, "That'd be kickass...,"

"Way to go, Jay!" Syrus walked up to him, "You might be able to be in the School Duel!"

"No Slifer's ever done that before!" Chumley nodded, "You'd make Duel Academy history!"

"Aw...," Jaden rubbed the back of his head, "Ya think so?"

Hearing footsteps, Jaden turned to see his would be opponent standing there, arms folded across his chest.

"Well, Bastion, I guess may the best man win, huh?"

Bastion chuckled, "Best _deck_, Jaden, and I assure you, that deck will be mine. Ever since my duel with Chazz, I've been formulating a new set cards to defeat you and your monsters,"

"You said you would...," Jaden got to his feet, smiling, "So are ya finished?"

Bastion shook his head, "No, but it will be soon," he turned back towards the exit.

"Til then, Bastion!" Jaden nodded.

As Bastion walked off, Syrus and the other Slifers came to Jaden, interested in what they had heard.

"Bastion's made a whole deck just to duel you with?" Syrus asked, making sure he heard that right.

"I dunno whether you should be really honored or really scared," Chumley added.

Christina shook her head and slapped Jaden on the back, "Naw, he ain't got nothing to worry about. Jaden kick uber butt with his Heroes!"

"Don't think that a good duel record will guarantee him victory, Chrissy," Siho wagged a finger, "Bastion could pull something outta his ass and surprise 'im,"

Jaden smiled and put his hands behind his head, "Well guys, I guess we'll find out when we throw down,"

-----

Now donned in the perfect disguise, also known as the Slifer Red blazer, the man with a goal of money walked down the corridors of Duel Academy, checking out the scenery. As he walked on, he noticed a couple of people in blue blazers coming his way and smiled.

"Hey, fellow duelists," he greeted, walking up to them, "What's shakin' around here?"

The leading Obelisk pushed him away, "Out of the way, you Slifer Slime!"

"Hey...," he called to the Obelisk, but they ignored him. He turned to see a kid in yellow come by, "Hey, how's it going?"

"Get outta my way, Slifer Sludge!" the Ra hissed, pushing him away too.

The man shook his head, "What is going on here? Why won't anyone talk to me?"

"Hey!"

Turning around, the man saw a kid wearing the same color blazer as him. The boy had short brown hair and a questioning look on his face.

"Oh...uh, hey,"

The boy looked him over, "You look way old, how can you be a Slifer?" he asked quietly.

_Oh...crap..._ the man was taken back by the question and began to panic.

"Jaden, just 'cause he looks old don't mean he shouldn't be here!" a girl with long brown hair scolded, walking up to them. The man looked further down the hall to see a small boy with blue hair, a large chunky boy, and a boy with a mane of black hair.

Jaden grinned, "Never said he shouldn't Chrissy," he slapped the older Slifer on the back, "It's cool, we totally understand! It just took you awhile to get accepted here! Don't be ashamed, old timer!"

Christina nodded and took the older man's hand and darted down the hallway, dragging him along with, "C'mon we'll give you a tour!"

As Jaden ran after her, Syrus and Chumley behind him, Siho shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, "Oy vey...,"

-----

That evening, after a full day of showing the 'newbie' around campus, Jaden and the others went back to the Slifer mess hall for some dinner.

The man looked down at his tray of food, questioning whether or not it was edible.

He looked across the table and saw that Jaden and the girl, Christina, were shoveling food into their mouths like crazy.

"Ya might wanna hurry up," Jaden said between mouthfuls, "Or you won't have time to get seconds!"

"...seconds...?"

Christina nodded as she speared her grilled fish, "Foodies like us tend to snag anything that isn't nailed down. Now c'mon, seconds, thirds and fourths are rare!"

"Foodies?" Siho raised an eyebrow, "What the hell is that?"

Christina patted her belly, "_Foodies_...people who enjoy, nay, adore food!"

"Oh you mean a glutton,"

_WHAP_

Siho rubbed the sore spot on his head, "God, you act more and more like your father everyday...,"

"Well...ok then," the man picked up his bowl of rice and grabbed a pair of chopsticks, "Down the hatch I guess...,"

"Syrus, lemme have your side dish!"

"Christina, you've had enough!"

After dinner, and after the sun had set, Jaden, his friends, and the newbie sat around the dorm room while Jaden was going through his Hero deck, which was currently spread out along the floor.

Christina leaned over and propped herself on Jaden's head, "So far so good, Jaden. Deck's lookin' great,"

Jaden waved her away, "Yeah yeah, gimme some room, Chrissy,"

"It _does _look good, but...," Syrus looked up at the ceiling, "I wonder what kinda deck Bastion's gonna have?"

"Dunno, but sounds like he some major time and brain power into it," Chumley said thoughtfully.

_I'll never get my story if I keep hanging with these twerps..._ the 'old timer' thought frustrated, before noticing something on the floor. He bent down and picked it up, it was a card. He looked at the card and grit his teeth, _Skyscraper...the card that ruined me..._

"Hey, Old Timer, you ok?"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" the older 'student' snapped his head to Jaden, "My name is Gerard!"

_Oh crap! I wasn't supposed to say my real name! Dammit!_ Gerard mentally groaned, trying to keep a calm face.

"Ok, Gerard it is!" Jaden smiled, then looked down at the card, "Hey, it's my Skyscraper card," he glanced up at the older man, "You like that card?"

Gerard scoffed and looked away, "Please, to like this card, you'd have to like _dueling_," he muttered.

Syrus tilted his head, "If you don't like dueling, why are you here?"

"Oh! Uh...," Gerard began to panic again, "Ya see...I uh...I mean that I don't like dueling because I'm not just good at it!" he lied quickly, praying that they bought it.

Chumley nodded, "I know how you feel, dude, I'm not very good at it either," he looked down at his own cards, "But that's changing...,"

Christina slapped him on the shoulder, "Sure is, Koala-boy,"

"Once I started hanging out with Jaden and the others, and saw how they dueled, it totally changed my life," Chumley continued.

Syrus turned to the old timer, "Gerard, that's it! If you watch Jaden, you might get into dueling more and the best thing is coming up! Jaden's gonna duel Bastion soon, maybe you could drop by!"

"Yeah, sure...," Gerard nodded, _Please...I'm done with dueling. These kids should mind their own business_.

At that thought, Gerard smiled slyly and glanced at the Slifer kids nearby, _Seeing as these kids like to pry, maybe they can help me get the scoop I need!_

"So, you guys," he turned to them, "I was just wondering. Do any of you know a rumor going around about kids disappearing?"

"You mean the abandoned dorm?" Jaden offered.

Gerard eyed him, "Abandoned dorm?"

The Slifer nodded, "Yeah. Me and the gang wandered inside it once and well...," he smiled nervously, "_Very _strange place...,"

_A deadly place too, depending on the fool who's idiotic enough to venture into the depths of the forbidden zone_ Siho thought, looking at Gerard through his bangs.

_-----_

Once again, in the middle of the night, Alexis placed a rose against a stone on the perimeter of the old dorm. Jordan was next to her, eyes staring at the building ahead of them.

"Be at peace, big brother...wherever you are," he whispered.

Alexis nodded and took his hand into hers, "Take care, brother...,".

Jordan's hand tightened, "I miss him, Lex,"

"I know, Jordan...I do, too,"

A rustling sound behind them made the two Rhodes turn around, Jordan stepping in front of Alexis protectively. Ever since that first time in the dorm behind them, he always stayed close to his cousin, ready to protect her when needed.

From the treeline, Gerard stepped out into view. He had ditched the other Slifers earlier that night after hearing about the place and decided to check it out.

He waved at them both, "Why hello there,"

"Hi...do we know you?" Jordan asked quickly, eyes narrowing at the stranger.

Gerard nodded, "Uh...yeah, I've seen you two around campus. Listen, I've heard around school that some students have gone missing here," he glanced at the dorm, "Would you two happen to know anything about this?"

Alexis scowled, "What's it to you, ponytail?"

Gerard eyed the rose and smiled, "Just curious is all,"

"Yeah well, those students and how they disappeared aren't for your amusement!" Jordan snapped, curling his hands into fists, "So just mind your own business!"

"Jordan, it's ok...," Alexis pulled her young cousin back and started to walk away, "I'd listen and just walk away if I were you,"

Gerard blinked, confused as the two students walked away, "Okay...well I dunno what _they're _problem is, but I'm not giving up," he snickered, pulling out a small camera from his pocket, "I'm gonna get this story,"

With that, he entered the old dorm alone.

-----

While Gerard began his dirt digging, Bastion was in his dorm room, sitting at his computer. He had been doing research on Jaden's deck for weeks, and he was still trying to figure out how to successfully defeat him.

He typed away on his keyboard, "Countless equations, a myriad of theorems, yet _still_...," he rubbed his chin, eyes never leaving the screen, "I have yet to solve the problem that is Jaden's deck...,".

Bastion clicked the mouse a few times until a familiar monster came to the screen, "The Flame Wingman, an impressive specimen. Whenever he destroys a monster, that monsters attack points are dealt to the owners Life Points. In order to stop him, I must stop Burstinatrix and Avian so they can't fuse. Of course...," he clicked the mouse again and another recognizable image came to the screen, "Even if I do stop _them_, Jaden still has the Thunder Giant. He can destroy a monster that has up to 2400 Attack Points as soon as he's summoned! To stop him, I must take out Sparkman and Clayman before _they_ can fuse,"

He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head and eyes focused on the computer ahead of him.

_Think Bastion, think!_

"I could assemble a deck to handle each one of those monsters, but that would leave far too much to chance. There must be a simple way to neutralize the threat...some strategy to stop those Fusion monsters...,"

That's when it hit Bastion right in the face.

"Wait a moment, that's it!" he reached over and let his fingers fly across the keyboard, "It's so obvious! Jaden Yuki, the code to your deck has just been cracked!"

-----

The next morning, everyone sat down in the appointed arena, eager to watch the Duel-Off between Bastion Misawa and Jaden Yuki.

One of these people was very eager, but not because of the duel itself, but because he was confident that Bastion would cream Jaden. The Head of Obelisk Blue stepped onto the platform as the two duelists came to their respective ends.

Crowler looked at the audience and raised his hands dramatically, "It's time, duelists! To find out who will be representing our most illustrious academy in the annual School Duel!"

Cheers erupted all around the arena as Crowler nodded, taking in the applause before waving to one end of the platform, "Introducing...from the Ra Yellow Dorm, Bastion Misawa!"

More cheers came as fellow Ras and friends of Bastion clapped for their favorite.

"And on this end...," Crowler waved to Jaden's side, "From Slifer...some kid," Crowler finished, less enthusiastic this time.

**(Author's Note: huh...wonder why? LOL)**

Not really minding with Crowler's bad intro, Jaden nodded to Bastion, "Here we go...good luck!"

"I appreciate the sentiment, Jaden," Bastion smiled, "But with the deck I've prepared, I don't need luck,"

"Heh, well we'll see about that," Jaden said, holding up his deck.

-----

"Go Jaden!" Syrus called from his seat in the stands, "This is what you trained for...or didn't...,"

Christina smiled as she put her feet up on the chair in front of her, "Only did a half an hour of training," she shook her head, "He should be good,"

Above the seats, at the railing surrounding the stands, Zane walked over to Jordan and Alexis who were standing side by side, eyes focused on the two duelists.

"It'll be instincts against intelligence here," he greeted, taking a spot alongside Alexis.

"Whatever...who cares?"

"Huh?!" Zane turned, surprised to hear _that _from the Obelisk Queen, "Alexis?"

The blonde duelist seemed to snap out of a small trance and looked at him, looking apologetic, "I mean, yeah, this will be something!"

Zane raised an eyebrow and noticed that Jordan had a similar look in his eyes.

"Hmm,"

-----

While everyone was busy getting ready for the duel to start, Gerard had snuck into the library and was now sitting at an empty computer desk, a small PDA linked up with it. Gerard smiled as he waited for the password to be cracked, so he could hack into the database.

"C'mon...show me some good stuff for my story!" he chuckled, rubbing his hands together.

-----

"Now," Crowler raised his arms again, "Without any further ado-,"

"Get your game on, Bastion!"

"You're on, Jaden!"

"Let's duel!" both duelists cried as they turned on their duel disks.

**B: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Alright, first move!" Bastion drew, "I summon Carbongeddon (900/600) in attack mode!" he declared as he placed a card sideways on his disk, watching a metallic dinosaur appear on his field, "That'll do for now,"

"Man, a whole new deck and Carbongeddon is the best you can bust out? Ok, whatever works for ya," Jaden drew his card and smiled, "I play Burstinatrix (1200/800) in attack mode!"

Bastion watched as the red-clad Heroine came to the field, looking ready to fight.

_Hmm...only one turn and he already has half the equation he needs to create his favorite monster, the Flame Wingman._

"Off to a good start there,"

"Yeah, sure am! I got news for ya, it only gets better!" Jaden pointed to the metal monster on the opposing side, "Burstinatrix, attack!" he ordered.

As soon as Burstinatrix's hand connected with the defending monster, it exploded into a plume of flame and smoke that soon blew away from Bastion, who looked rather calm.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown," Jaden finished as he inserted a card into an empty slot.

Bastion nodded, "You don't waste any time, Jaden, I like that," he drew his next card and looked at it.

_Here it is! The one card that will win me this duel! But first..._

Bastion went through his hand, "I'll summon Oxygeddon (1800/800) in attack mode!" he declared, slapping the card onto his disk.

An ethereal pterodactyl screeched as it appeared on the field, wings outstretched.

"Now, Oxygeddon, attack Burstinatrix!" he ordered.

"Think again!" Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I play a Trap! Hero Barrier! With this card, if I have an Elemental Hero on the field, I can negate your monsters attack once!"

This was shown by a blue barrier coming between Oxygeddon and Burstinatrix just as the former let loose a blast of sonic waves.

"Sorry, Bastion, but Burstinatrix isn't busted _yet_!" Jaden grinned.

"Well played, Jaden," Bastion praised, "Of course I would expect no less,"

He looked at the card he had drawn earlier, _Of course when I use this card, it won't matter how well you play..._

"I'll go and place this card facedown," he inserted the card into a spare slot, "And I'll end my turn,"

"Alright," Jaden drew his card, then placed it on the disk, "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in attack mode!".

Soon enough, the electric Hero joined the fiery Heroine on the field.

Jaden held up another card, "Next, I'll play the Spell card, Spark Blaster and equip it on Sparkman!" he paused and watched as the futuristic pistol appeared, wires coming out of the handle and going into Sparkman's wrist, "This let's me change the battle mode of any monster on the field, and the one I have in mind is Oxygeddon!"

Sparkman fired off a ball of sparking energy that struck Oxygeddon in the chest, making it go into a defensive crouching position, wings folded in front.

"Now, Burstinatrix can take him out!" Jaden looked to his Heroine, "Magma Comet!"

In the palm of Burstinatrix's hand, a big orb of swirling fire, which was about twice the size of her own head, appeared. She pulled back her arm and lobbed it hard at Oxygeddon.

Bastion couldn't help but smile as his monster was attacked, "Looks like someone has forgotten their chemistry," he shook his head, "Fire and oxygen don't mix Jaden, so when Oxygeddon is destroyed in battle by a Pyro-type or Fire Attribute monster, it doesn't just take a toll on my Life Points, but yours as well!"

The fire swirled around the mass of oxygen for a few moments before blowing up, engulfing the entire platform in fire.

**B: 3200  
J: 3200**

Jaden looked up after covering his face from the flames, "Sweet move, your monsters ability cost us both our Life Points," he grinned, "But I'd do it all over again and ya know why? Because now your field is empty! Sparkman, attack Bastion directly!"

Bastion grunted as the electric Hero fired off a few bolts of energy that passed right through him.

**B: 1600  
J: 3200**

-----

In the stand, Shephard turned to Banner, who was sitting a row or two behind him.

"Looks like Zane was right about the boy, he's quite the duelist,"

Banner smiled, "It's true, we teach our Slifer's well...," he chuckled, "When they _don't_ ditch class,"

Unfortunately, Crowler wasn't enjoying the duel as much as the others. He was panicking because of the way it had gone so far.

_Why did I have to nominate Bastion?! He's getting creamed, I'm getting humilated, and worst of all..._ he pulled his hair hard, _Jaden's looking better than ever!!_

-----

"Sorry, Bastion," Jaden smiled, "But it looks like it'll be back to the drawing board again if you wanna be my deck!"

Bastion smiled, "No Jaden, I think not. You see, I've _already_ beaten it, it's just a matter of showing all of my work,"

_And the matter of allowing Jaden to play the card that will enact my master plan to bring down his deck _he added mentally.

"Now, let's get back into the fray, shall we? It's my turn," Bastion drew his card, "I'm summoning Hydrogeddon (1600/1000)" he paused as a large monster composed of muddy water came to his aide, "Hydrogeddon, attack Burstinatrix!"

Jaden watched as a stream of water erupted from the Hydrogeddon's jaws and rammed itself into Burstinatrix, blowing her to pieces.

**B: 1600  
J: 2800**

"Next, I'll activate Hydrogeddon's ability," Bastion continued, "Whenever he destroys a monster in battle, it allows me to summon another Hydrogeddon," he plucked a card from the pile of cards in his disk, "and look, I happen to have one here in my deck!"

An identical monster joined the first Hydrogeddon on the field.

Bastion took another card from his hand, "Next, I play the Equip Spell card, Living Fossil! I can now summon a monster from my Graveyard as long as I equip it with this. So the monster I'll bring back is...," he reached down to his slot as a card popped out.

"Oxygeddon, rise again, old friend!" he called as he slapped the monster card onto the field again, "Of course, his attack points are lowered and his ability is canceled, but it's worth it,"

Oxygeddon (800/1400)  
Hydrogeddon 1 & 2 (1600/1000) each.

"Now it gets good," once again, Bastion took a card from his hand, "I play the Spell card, Bonding H2O! With this card Jaden, when I bond two Hydrogeddons and one Oxygeddon, they do the same thing that two hyrdogens and one oxygen molecules do...they become water! Or in this case," he paused as his three monsters swirled around and around until a huge serpent made from deep blue water appeared in front of him, "The almighty Water Dragon (2800/2600)!"

Jaden looked up at the serpent, "That's not good...,"

-----

"Impressive monster," Shephard mused.

Banner nodded, "Yes, an impressive move, too," he looked at the duel, "It'll be tough,".

Pharaoh mewled in agreement.

Now, Crowler was enjoying the twist. He giggled from his place on the sidelines, "Ooh, I knew it was a good idea to nominate Bastion for this match. He's looking magnificent, I'm looking brilliant, and best of all, Jaden looks like a complete fool!"

**(Author's note: Anyone else wanna hit this guy right now?)**

Christina bit her fingernails, "C'mon Jaden...,"

"Hey, where'd Siho go?"

The brunette Slifer turned to Syrus' question to see that Siho wasn't in his seat anymore. She stood up and watched him walk away, his hand digging into his pocket.

She frowned, _Time again, Siho? Have the dreams returned?_

"Eh," she sat back down, shrugging, "He probably has to take a crap,"

-----

"It's your move now, Jaden," Bastion nodded to his opponent, _And if you plan to take on my Water Dragon, there's only one move you can make, and it's the move I've been waiting for..._

"Well Bastion, it's like they say: 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'. So here I go," Jaden drew his new card and smiled, "Sweet!" he looked up at Bastion, "You got one of your best monsters out, so allow me to summon up one of _mine_!"

He looked at his hand, fingers grazing the cards, "Now I may not know much about chemistry as much as you do, but I can still mix it up! Avian and Bubbleman, get ready to fuse with Sparkman to create the Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800)!"

Jaden smiled confidently as his three Heroes came to the field, followed by the image of his Polymerization card, "Now, fuse!"

"I don't think so, Jaden!" Bastion cried.

"Huh?" Jaden stared at him, taken back.

Bastion waved his arm to his facedown, "Go, reveal Trap card! Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell! Now, by discarding one Spell card from my hand, I can negate your Spell card and destroy it!" he placed one card on the tray and watched as it was sucked into the Graveyard, then looked up at Jaden smiling, "And you can no longer use the Spell card that was destroyed for the rest of the duel!"

Jaden stared at him, completely frozen in shock as his Polymerization card was destroyed. He blinked, "So wait, I can't use Polymerization anymore?!"

"I'm afraid not," Bastion folded his arms, "Which essentially means you can't use any of your Fusion mosnters either. No Flame Wingman, no Thunder Giant..._none_ of them!"

-----

Christina stared wide-eyed, "Oh-,"

"-crap," Kairi finished, staring as well.

Syrus shook his head, "No Fusion monsters?! But that's how Jaden wins _all_ his duels!"

-----

"Compute it anyway you like, Jaden, but the answer will still be the same...you can't win!" Bastion chuckled as his Water Dragon loomed over Jaden and his failed Fusion attempt.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: There's that one. Jaden can't use fusion...NO! Can he make a comeback? Find out next chapter!**

**P.S. -points to Carbongeddon's name- ...it has the word 'bong' in it! LOL!**

**Yami K: oh god...sorry for that crack guys, cya later!**

**Kilnorc: ja ne!**


	33. Hero vs Brainiac Part Two

**Hero vs Brainiac Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time on GX: Heroes, Jaden and Bastion were arranged to duel one another for the honor to be in the School Duel against North Academy. After weeks of preparation, Bastion finally figured out how to counter Jaden's best Hero monsters, and actually used it by playing a Trap card known as Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell. Now, without the ability to use Fusion Monsters, how will Jaden fight back against Bastion's powerful Water Dragon?_**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Siho stood in front a mirror in a restroom near the arena. He glanced down at a plastic bottle that was open on the side of the sink.

_God...I hated taking these things and thought I wouldn't have to take them again...but then they started up again _he thought rubbing his eyes.

"Hello...my Little One,"

Siho froze and slowly lifted his head and looked in the mirror to see one of the bathroom stalls slowly open, "No...,"

"Yes...," a chilling laugh reached his ears, "It's as I said, you'll never be alone. I'll always be with you,"

_He's not real...he's not real...he's not real!_ Siho shut his eyes tightly and stood there for a few moments, _Go away...go away...go away...go away..._ he pleaded. After sometime, he opened his eyes and looked in the mirror again to see that the bathroom stall that had started to open up was closed, as if nothing had changed.

"Dammit...,"

-----

In the darkness of the empty library, Gerard sat at his computer, impatiently waiting for the password to the database to be finally cracked.

"If I can just get past this thing, I'll be able to access Duel Academy's student files...," he murmured, sitting back in his chair. He watched as his little PDA failed to get the right password and was about to lose it when it finally managed to crack it.

He smiled as the screen changed and showed him Obelisk the Tormentor, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Slifer the Sky Dragon, the three Egyptian God cards that the dorms of the school were named after.

"Got it!"

The screen changed again from the Gods to an image of Duel Monster cards. However, they weren't really cards. Some of them were showing the backside, while other showed him images of different students from different dorms. One picture of a young man with brunette hair in Obelisk Blue colors caught his eyes.

Gerard leaned forward, eyes scanning the words, "Atticus Rhodes. Studying abroad on special sabbatical," he frowned as his eyes darted from side to side, seeing different kids with similar statuses.

"This one too...and this one, and that one...," he looked some more, "Him, him...and her too...," he scratched his head, "This is weird. All of them are all sabbatical, but they have no forwarding address. I don't buy it at all, these must be the missing kids from the abandoned dorm and the Academy must be trying to cover it up!"

He smiled as he made some notes in his personal electronic device, "I smell a front page scandal and a major payday to the reporter who makes this story. Thanks for the scoop, Duel Academy, and good luck trying to survive all the bad publicity!"

If he had looked a little more to the side, he would've seen a small monitor was turned on and showing the duel off between Bastion and Jaden. The latter had just brought out his Avian in Defense Mode.

-----

Bastion stood confidently as Jaden finished his turn, "Face it Jaden, with your Fusion monsters neutralized and my Water Dragon about to strike, you and your monsters are about to be all washed up!"

**B: 1600  
J: 2800**

Water Dragon (2800/2600)

E-Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)  
E-Hero Avian DEF (1000/1000)

-----

"I can't watch...," Syrus groaned, afraid that his friend would actually lose this duel.

"It's not all bad. Jaden still has more Life Points," Chumley pointed out.

Christina nodded, "Good point, but without his Fusion Monsters being unavailable Jaden will have to pull some uber luck in order to win this...,"

_C'mon Jaden_ Alexis begged, "Fight back!"

Zane chuckled at those words, "Well, looks like we've underestimated Bastion. He's been playing this like a pro. After all, with just one card, he's disarmed Jaden's entire deck,"

"C'mon, he's just taken away Yuki's Fusion monsters, Kaiser," Jordan reminded him, "It's not like he killed off all monsters in his deck,"

Zane eyed the Ra, "True, but that alone might be enough to bring Jaden down...after all, Fusion monsters are how Jaden wins all his duels,"

Meanwhile, further down, Crowler was having the time of his life. He pounded the platform, smiling from ear to ear, "That's it, Bastion! Show this Slifer Slacking Sludge who's boss!" he cheered, "Show him he doesn't belong in the School Duel!"

"My, Pharaoh," Banner ran a hand along his pet's back, "This does not look good,"

-----

"It's my go, and I'll switch my Sparkman to Defense Mode," Jaden reached down and turned his monster sideways, watching his Hero crouch, "And that's all I do for now,"

"Not much you can do when you've been stripped of the ability to use your favorite monsters, eh Jaden?"

Jaden shook his head, "Wrong Bastion, there's _loads_ to do. Like finding a new plan. It'll be tough, but I'm up for it, and then Bastion it'll be all the sweeter when I win!"

Bastion smiled, "Yes, when you win," he murmured, "Well, we have nothing if not our dreams, then I suppose however farfetched. Now let's get on with the duel!" he drew his card and looked at it, "I summon The Mathemetician (1500/500) in attack mode!"

A short man in scholar robes, a pair of thick glasses, a long beard and a staff appeared alongside the huge Water Dragon.

"You see, when he's summoned to the field, I must take a card from my deck and send it to the Graveyard," Bastion proved this by sending a card into the slot, "But if he's destroyed in battle, I can take a card from my deck and add it to my hand!" he glanced at his Graveyard, "Of course, none of that is very pressing at this moment. What, with my Water Dragon ready to surge into action!"

At those words, the watery serpent shot a long stream of water that crashed down upon Sparkman, drowning him and sending him to the Graveyard. Jaden glared lightly through the watery wall that was in front of him, thanks to the Water Dragon.

"And now, Mathemetician attacks your Hero Avian!" Bastion cried, "Number Cruncher!"

The monster in thick glasses raised it's staff and send a beam of numbers and variables at Avian, blowing him to pieces on contact.

-----

"Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse...," Syrus shook his head is dismay.

Christina stood up, shaking her fist, "BOOO! MATH SUCKS! STAY OUT OF DUELS, YOU EVIL EVIL MATH!"

Kairi sunk into her seat, _God, now I know how Siho feels when Chrissy goes off like this..._ she thought as people stared at her roommate, _I don't know her, I don't know her, I don't know her..._

-----

_Now that I have records of those missing students, I'll be able to sell this story for a fortune!_ Gerard thought happily as he walked down the corridors of the school, _Sure, the scandal will probably ruin Duel Academy, but oh well!_

_-_Flashback-

_"You're old...,"_

_Jaden slapped his shoulder, "Hey, no worries, it's cool!"_

_"You good, Old Timer?"_

_"Stop calling me that!"_

_"Hey, Skyscraper! You like that card too?"_

-End Flashback-

Gerard shook his head, _That kid! Why can't I just forget about him?!_ he thought as he neared a large arch-way where screams and cheers were heard.

"Hm?" he turned and walked through the entry way, catching sight of the Water Dragon of Bastion's and Jaden standing on the opposite side of the platform.

"How about that? It's that duel those Slifers wanted me to see," Gerard looked back and forth from the duelists, "The one that was supposed to change my life and look...," he smiled, "It seems Jaden is losing,".

While he watched on, he didn't notice Siho coming up behind him.

-----

"Well, my turn's done, Jaden," Bastion declared, "So, if you still plan on beating me, feel free to go ahead and do your worst!"

The Slifer grinned, "Oh, I will. Because _my _duel is just starting!"

"Is it now?" Bastion smiled, amused slightly.

"Yep, you see, we're different," Jaden looked at him, "You make all your moves on the field, while I make all my moves on the field!"

He reached down to his deck, "Alright, where were we?" he drew his card, "First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!".

Now, his recognized bubbly Hero came to the field, cape flowing behind him.

"Now, when I summon Bubbleman, and if I have no other cards out, that's a good thing! Know why/" he reached down and drew, "It lets me draw two new cards, and one of them," he held a card up, "I'll play right now. Bubble Blaster! This lets Bubbleman get an extra 800 attack points!"

Sure enough, a large water cannon appeared as Bubbleman took a knee, the cannon over his shoulder.

E-Hero Bubbleman (1600/1200)

"Now, Bubbleman attack!"

Bubbleman fired a huge bubble blast that crashed right into the Mathemetician, blowing him to millions of digitized pieces.

**B: 1500  
J: 2800**

"Well played," Bastion lowered his arm away from his face, "But since you destroyed Mathemetician, his ability activates, allowing me to draw one card," he reached down and took the new card from his deck.

"Yeah yeah, but it's still my turn," Jaden reminded him, "Now I'm gonna throw down two facedowns and then I'll play the Spell card, Mirage of Nightmare! Then I'll call it a turn," he finished up as the three holo-cards appeared on the field.

"See, Bastion, I'm no one-trick pony. You take away my Fusion monsters and I'll just come right back at ya with something else, 'cause it's not about the Fusion, it's about the monster and all of mine are raring to go!"

"If you say so, Jaden," Bastion reached down, "My draw!"

As he drew his next card, Jaden smiled, "Time for Mirage of Nightmare's effect! During your Standby Phase, I can draw four new cards from my deck and add them to my hand!" he drew his four cards, then pressed a button on his disk, "Now I activate my Spell card, Emergency Provisions! Allow me to tell how it works, Bastion. For every Spell or Trap card on the field that I send to the Grave, I gain 1000 Life Points!"

He pointed to his first Spell card, "So I'll choose my Mirage of Nightmare!"

**B: 1500  
J: 3800**

-----

"Not a bad move," Gerard said thoughtfully, "First, he uses Mirage to get new cards, then he ditches it with Emergency Provisions before it can hurt him...,".

Realizing what he just said, Gerard rubbed his head, "Not that I care about this duel or anything anyway...," he turned to walk off, but stopped, startled that Siho was standing right behind him.

"If I were you, Gerard...I'd stay and watch this duel instead of leaving," Siho said quietly, looking straight into the man's eyes, "Nothing helps a scattered mind than a duel...," he looked back to the duel, smiling slightly.

Gerard stared at Siho, _Creepy kid, but..._ he slowly turned back to the duel, _For some reason, he's right..._

"Quite impressive," Zane nodded, "Jaden switched his strategy and he's _still_ playing well,"

Alexis crossed her arms along the railing, "Yeah, but will it be enough?"

"Guess we just gotta wait and see," Jordan murmured.

-----

"You're simply postponing the inevitable, Jaden," Bastion smiled, "You see, your deck is a problem that's already been solved,"

"You're wrong!"

"Well then, perhaps this will convince you then!" Bastion took a card from his hand, "I play the Spell card, Pot of Greed, and thanks to it's effect, I get to draw two more cards from my deck!" he paused, taking the two cards and placing Pot of Greed into his Graveyard slot, "Furthermore, now there are ten cards in the Graveyard, laying on top of my Carbongeddon, but he can handle the pressure...in fact, he thrives on it! Because of the gravitational force on Carbongeddon, he changes into diamond, which allows me to use effect!"

Bastion reached and took out the Carbongeddon card and placed a new card onto the disk, "By removing his card from the Graveyard, I can now summon Hyozanryu (2100/2800), the Diamond Dragon!"

With an ear-splitting screech, a new dragon descended onto the field alongside Water Dragon. This new dragon had a beautiful hide of diamond scales, and a powerful set of claws, with an impressive set of wings.

"Now, Hyozanryu, attack Bubbleman with Diamond Devastator!"

The new dragon screeched and launched a stream of diamond shards. The shards soared past Bubbleman, blowing his Bubble Blaster away.

E-Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)

"Whoopsie, Bastion," Jaden shook his head, "When Bubbleman is attacked when he's equipped with Bubble Blaster, it's the Blaster that gets destroyed, not the monster!"

"But now that your Blaster's gone...who will protect you against the Water Dragon?" he pointed to Jaden, "Water Dragon, Tidal Blast!" he ordered.

Once again, the liquid serpent fired off a blast of high-powered water and blew Bubbleman away in a bright blue light, taking a chunk of Jaden's points away from him.

**B: 1500  
J: 1800**

"Go Trap card!" Jaden cried, "Hero Signal!"

From Jaden's facedown card, a beam of light shot into the sky and above them both, an big bold **H** was seen.

"This activates when one of my monsters is destroyed," Jaden explained, "Now Bastion, I can summon a monster that has the words Elemental Hero in it's name from my deck or from my hand!" he placed a card onto his disk, "And I choose the Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000)!"

Jaden let out a sigh of relief as his big, bulky, brown monster came to the field in attack mode.

Bastion couldn't help but smile, "My, you just won't give up will you, Jaden? You certainly are one stubborn duelist,"

"Thanks Bastion...," Jaden scratched his cheek, "At least I think that was a compliment...,"

"Anyway, I'll end my turn with a facedown," Bastion inserted a card into his disk.

-----

"This is really getting good!" Gerard stared at the two duelists, "I forgot how much fun dueling can be!"

Siho smiled slightly, "If you think it's a fun thing, it must be a total blast for Jaden...,"

-----

"Here it goes!" Jaden drew his card and inserted it into his disk, "I activate the Spell, The Warrior Returning Alive! With this effect, I can take one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand,"

He reached down and plucked the card out of the slot, only to place it on the field, "I choose Bubbleman, then...," he inserted another card as his caped Hero came back, "I activate the card, Bubble Shuffle! With this, I can change Bubbleman's and one of your monsters from attack mode to defense mode!"

Bastion grit his teeth as his Water Dragon curled up into a defensive position while Bubbleman knelt down, his arms crossed.

"Also, if I sacrifice Bubbleman while he's in defense mode, I can summon any monster that has Elemental Hero in it's name from my hand," he took a card from his hand, "and that's exactly what I'm gonna do, Bastion! Bubbleman, move over for Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/2200)!"

Bubbleman glowed and disappeared, followed by the golden-armored Hero powerhouse taking his place, it's armor shining in the light of the arena.

-----

Zane smiled, folding his arms, "Those Fusion monsters _may _be Jaden's best, but that monster," he nodded to Bladedge, "is a close second,"

"It's also going to be a close match-up," Alexis added quietly, never blinking.

"Aw Jaden, what are you doing?" Syrus yelled, "That Bladedge only has 2600 attack points, it's not strong enough to take down that Water Dragon!"

Christina leaned forward, eyes wide, "Oooh...pretty shiny Hero...,"

Kairi reached over and tugged on her roommate, "C'mon back to the Normal Land Chrissy!"

-----

Hearing his roommate's cry, Jaden grinned as the end tray of his duel disk popped open, "It's enough Syrus...when I do this!" he placed a card into the slot, "The Field Spell, Skyscraper!"

-----

Gerard's eyes widened to the size of saucers as the huge buildings rose from the ground, surrounding the others.

"Skyscraper...," he murmured as flashes to his final duel came back to him again. Tall buildings stood proud around him and his opponent as the duel went on. But, something happened...no matter how hard he tried, he lost that duel. For that defeat, he blamed Skyscraper.

Siho eyed Gerard and raised an eyebrow.

-----

"Now a monster with Elemental Hero in it's name attacks, and it has weaker points than the monster it's attacking, it gainst 1000 extra points!" Jaden smiled, then pointed to the Water Dragon, "Bladedge, show 'em what you got with Slice 'n Dice attack!"

E-Hero Bladedge (3600/2200)

Bladedge flew across the field, thanks to a small jetpack on it's back, and rammed it's arm-blade clear through the Water Dragon's neck, blowing it apart.

"Now, Bladedge's ability activates! When he destroys a monster in defense mode, the difference between his attack points and the destroyed monsters defense points are dealt directly to you as damage!"

**B: 500  
J: 1800**

Bastion looked on through the cloud of smoke, "Well my Water Dragon has a special ability too, Jaden. When he's destroyed in battle, I can summon one Oxygeddon and two Hydrogeddon's from my field!" he paused as the three dinos came back to his field, "Next, I activate a Trap card called Last Magnet!"

A huge round magnet dropped from the sky and landed hard on Bladedge's shoulders, the monster kneeling due to the weight.

"This activates whenever one of my monsters is destroyed," Bastion explained, "Next, it attaches to the monster responsible for destroying my monster and then it lowers that monsters attack points by 800!"

E-Hero Bladedge (1800/2200)

"Yeah?" Jaden grit his teeth, "Well my Clayman can still clobber at peak performance, especially with Skyscraper on the field! Go, Clayman, attack Oxygeddon with Clay Clobber!

E-Hero Clayman (1800/2000)

People all around them let out waves and waves of murmurs as the Clayman flew over the platform and slugged Oxygeddon hard, causing it to blow to pieces.

"Good show, Jaden,"

"Well, I do what I can," Jaden shrugged casually.

"Alright, it's my turn now," Bastion drew his card, "From my hand, I play the Spell card, Litmus Doom Ritual! Now, by sacrificing cards from my hand and field, I can summon Litmust Doom Swordsman (0/0)!"

A sparking monument rose from the earth, followed by his two Hydrogeddons being wiped away from the field. In their place, an impressive warrior in a tunic and red cape, carrying two swords in his hands appeared.

"Doom Swordsman isn't effected by Traps, and he can't be destroyed in battle," Bastion smiled, "Essentially, he's invincible! Also, if there happens to be a Trap card on the field, like Last Magnet for example, my Doom Swordman's attack and defense points become 3000!"

Litmus Doom Swordsman (3000/3000)

"Now, Litmus Doom Swordsman, give Bladedge a taste of _your_ steel!" Bastion commanded.

His Ritual monster let out a battle cry, then leapt over to Bladedge, and with a few quick swipes, it destroyed the golden Elemental Hero with ease.

**B: 500  
J: 1600**

Since Bladedge was destroyed, Last Magnet disappeared, causing Doom Swordman's power and defense revert back to normal.

Litmus Doom Swordsman (0/0)

"Well done, now Hyozanryu, make me proud and attack Clayman! Diamond Devastator!"

Hyozanryu fired off another stream of diamonds and hit Clayman fast and hard. The earthen Hero groaned as the diamonds tore through him. Within seconds, Clayman exploded into a fiery cloud.

**B: 500  
J: 1300**

"There's more, from my hand, I play the Spell card, Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!" Bastion inserted the card into his disk, "Now, by returning one Level 5 or higher Dragon-Type monster from my field, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are destroyed, meaning Skyscraper is demolished!"

Jaden watched in dismay as his tall surroundings crumbled around them, followed by his Field Spell tray popping open, tossing out Skyscraper.

"Finally," Bastion inserted another card, "I'll end my turn with a facedown,"

Jaden looked at Bastion for a few, long minutes, then smiled, "You know Bastion, I don't think I've had more fun in a duel...,"

"I've enjoyed it too, Jaden, and I'll continue to enjoy it...when I beat you," Bastion said confidently.

"Actually...I'm ending this _now_!" Jaden drew his card and looked at it, "Sweetness! I'm gonna summon a new Elemental Hero, and here he is!" he slapped the card onto his disk, "The Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)!!"

-----

"YEAH!" Siho slapped Gerard hard on the back, "Now _that's_ what I'm talking about Jaden! New blood for ya Hero Deck!" he exhaled loudly and looked at the dark-skinned, muscled man in a loincloth, a giant sword on his back.

_Kinda looks like Damon in some ways_ he thought, recalling that night.

-----

"A new one?" Bastion smiled, "Too bad he won't last long. I activate my facedown Trap card, Spirit Barrier!" he watched as his facedown was raised from the floor, "Now, thanks to this card's effect, as long as I have _one_ monster on the field, any battle damage can be turned all the way down to 0!"

Jaden shook his head, "Nuh-uh! Traps don't work on Wildheart!"

"Is that so? Well, I suppose it's a good thing they still work on my Swordsman then," he paused as his monster glowed, "Remember, when a Trap card is out, his power grows!"

Litmus Doom Swordsman (3000/3000)

Jaden grinned, "It's all good...," he held up a card, "I activate the magic of Cyclone Boomerang and equip it to Wildheart, raising his attack points by 500!"

A large twister appeared on the field and weaved it's way to the new Hero. As it approached, it slowly disappeared to reveal a huge boomerang spinning around and around before Wildheart reached up and grabbed it.

E-Hero Wildheart (2000/1600)

-----

Christina stood on the ledge, waving her arms frantically, "Yeah! _Hiraikotsu!_"

_Ok, now I'm taking away her Inuyasha anime time..._ Kairi thought as she sunk further into her seat.

Syrus shook his head at the change, "His power is still short a thousand...,"

"Yeah, what gives?!" Chumley demanded.

-----

On the field, Bastion stared at Wildheart and the Cyclone Boomerang for a short time before his eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen.

"I'll show you what gives!" Jaden pointed to the Litmus Doom Swordsman, "When it makes it's return trip!"

Wildheart shouted and tossed the boomerang, causing it to spin rapidly along the ground, aimed right at the Swordsman. However, it was in vain, because before the Boomerang could even touch Doom Swordsman, a transparent barrier appeared and deflected the weapon, sending it flying back towards Wildheart. The Hero yelled in pain as his weapon hit him hard.

**B: 500  
J: 300**

Jaden looked through the smoke, "Perfect! Now I play Cyclone Boomerang's effect. You see, when this card and the monster it was equipped to are sent to the Graveyard, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are destroyed and for each one destroyed, you get dealt 500 points of damage!"

Bastion looked up and watched as his Spirit Barrier shattered, just before the shards rained down upon him. He covered his head, but that didn't matter. The damage was done, and the duel was over.

**B: 0  
J: 300**

**-----**

Cheers erupted all around them as the monsters disappeared and the duel disks were turned off.

Zane smiled and started to walk off, "I guess when it came to Jaden Yuki, Bastion miscalculated...," he mused.

"Yeah, either that or maybe some strategies you can't solve...," Alexis murmured.

"HE DID IT!"

Both Jordan and Alexis turned to see the man from the abandoned dorm the night before. He was going crazy while Siho was clapping wildly, whistling between claps.

"Oh yeah, what a duel!" Gerard pumped his arms in the air a few times before stopping, smiling, "Thanks, Jaden...,"

Siho put his hands in his blazer pockets as Gerard left the arena, "Another duelist returns to that which he loves...all is right the world...,"

Meanwhile, Crowler was wallowing in his own sea of despair. He slowly sank to the floor, "Doesn't this slacker ever _lose_?!"

Chancellor Shephard rose from his seat, "So be it. Jaden Yuki will represent us in the School Duel!".

Jaden grinned as all his friends leapt onto the platform, whooping and cheering.

"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus praised.

"Indeed," Bastion walked up to them while Siho and Kairi watched as Christina dance Baround happily, "You beat me fair and square Jaden, or rather, you beat _this _deck," he held up his defeated deck, "But you can be sure that there'll be another,"

"And another duel," Jaden nodded, "Count on it!"

Bastion smiled and held out his hand. Jaden looked down at it, smiled, and slapped it before shaking it.

-----

"Hey, you!"

"Oi!"

Gerard stopped in his tracks as he heard the two voices from the night before.

"You were the creep who was asking us questions about the dorm," Alexis accused, "What are you doing here?"

Gerard smiled, his hands in his pockets, "Not what I thought...,"

Jordan frowned, "What?" he asked, taken back.

"You see, I came here looking for a story, and what I found was something _very_ different," the reporter continued, "I found the duelist inside me, the duelist I had forgotten about so long ago. See, I'm a reporter, a sleazy one, I'll admit it. I used to make a living digging up dirt. But I didn't always. I took on monsters and spells before I took on tabloid pictures," he turned and looked at the two Rhodes, "It's true. I was...a duelist, just like Bastion and Jaden. But I wasn't any good, and I kept losing, and the memories were awful, but after today's match, it made me remember what dueling is really about,"

_Is this guy gonna take a breather sometime this year?_ Jordan asked, watching him take out an electronic device from his pocket.

"I had a great lead that I was gonna sell to the highest bidder...a lead that would probably ruin Duel Academy," he hefted the piece of technology, "But I don't wanna ruin this place...not now. I just wanna help now," he turned around to face the two Rhodes, "To find them, _all_ of the missing students. Including your brother," he glanced at Alexis then Jordan, "And your cousin...,"

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the Ra and Obelisk in silence. Jordan looked at Alexis, who seemed to have changed by his words. She looked...more hopeful.

-----

"I can't believe it, that Slifer Slacker is representing us, representing _me_!" Crowler moaned, rocking back and forth against the platform.

Jaden smiled and raised his arm in victory, "School Duel, ready or not, here I come!"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Wow...no matter what, Jaden seems to win...man, he must've stolen Joey Wheeler's luck, eh? LOL! Later ya'll, hope ya liked it!**


	34. Dude, Where's My Mokey?

**Dude, Where's My Mokey?**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Ever since Jaden Yuki won his duel against Bastion Misawa a few days ago, news and rumors about him and North Academy in the upcoming School Duel were going around like wildfire. Some said he was going to bring home the gold, others said he would bring shame, and some others, didn't really care at the moment.

Kairi was one of them. While she _did_ enjoy the duel between Bastion and Jaden, her mind was too preoccupied to care about the School Duel for now. The reason? Her mind was set on finding that boy from Obelisk Blue, Kristerr. She never told her friends, or anyone for that matter, but she had a major crush on the guy.

It might've been because he helped her out with that bimbo, Cynthia, or it could've been that he gave her that Versago the Destroyer card...or it could've been the reason he was pretty cute. Anyway, the point is, she had her heart set on him, and now she was on a mission to find him. Maybe, they'd hit it off and she'd have a special someone.

She spent the morning going around the school, looking through every empty classroom, the card shop, and even the boy's locker room (although that was over quickly, and she was grateful that no one actually saw her go in), but she couldn't find him.

"Aw man...why can't I find this guy?" Kairi whined, pulling at her hair, "Figures, I meet a cute guy and when I go look for him, it's like he never really existed!"

_"And here we are_

_We're the Princes of the Universe,_

_Here we belong..._

_Fighting for survival..."_

"Nyah?" Kairi looked around, hearing someone singing a song she knew from Queen, "Where's that coming from?". She walked into a large room where a huge staircase was leading upward and the song became louder and clearer. She looked up to see Kristerr leaning against the railing of the ladder, nodding his head as he sang.

_Oh thank you Gods of Egypt! _Kairi smiled and raced up the stairs, hoping to catch him without scaring the daylights out of him.

As she came closer, Kristerr stopped singing and turned his head, noticing the Slifer girl. He reached up and pulled out earphones and reached down to his belt, turning off his MP3 Player.

"Hey...," he greeted as Kairi finally reached the level he was on.

Kairi panted and waved, "H-hi...,"

Kristerr looked her over, "Tired?"

"Just...a...little," Kairi inhaled deeply, then exhaled, "Ok...now I'm good," she patted her chest, "You know you are one _hard_ person to find,".

Kristerr blinked slowly, "Oh, am I?"

Kairi nodded.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Well...," Kairi blushed lightly and rubbed the back of her head, "I...never got a chance to properly thank you for helping out with that blue bimbo, and for giving me a new card! Although...," she smiled nervously, "I still don't know what else I can do with it besides using it to attack,"

Kristerr nodded, "I see. You're like most people in Slifer,"

"Hey!"

"Please, I mean no offense to you or your dorm," Kristerr held up his hands, "I only meant that most people who only use monsters for fighting and not for anything else for one reason or another, usually are in Slifer Red,"

"Oh...so what's it do?"

"I can't tell you,"

"What?! Why not?"

"Because it's not my place. It's _your_ card now, Kairi, _you_ need to learn what it does, and when you do, _you_ need to know when to use it properly," Kristerr explained, heading further up the stairs.

Kairi started to walk after him, "Hey, where you going?"

"Up to the roof,"

"Why?"

"It's my thinking place. I like to go there to ponder things,"

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Knock yourself out, Kairi,"

-----

After a few minutes of walking, the two students reached the top of the roof, they were surprised to see that it was already occupied. Jaden, Chumley, Siho, Syrus, Bastion, Alexis, Jordan, and Christina were on one side of the roof while on the other side, a small boy in Obelisk colors stood. Jaden and the boy were both wearing duel disks.

Kristerr's eye twitched, "Man, now I gotta find a new place to think,"

Kairi giggled and noticed that the boy wore some dirty clothes under his blazer, had messy black hair, and a somewhat relaxed look on his face.

"Well, worry about that later," Kairi took Kristerr's hand and lead him to where the rest of the gang were seated. Christina and Siho were atop of a large block, the same block where Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Alexis and Jordan were standing near.

"I think Jaden's about to-,"

"Get your game on!" Jaden cried, turning on his duel disk.

"-duel," Kairi turned to Alexis, "Who's that guy?" she asked, pointing to the boy.

Alexis shrugged, "I don't know. I think I heard Jaden call him Belowski?"

-----

**B: 4000  
J: 4000**

**(Author's notes: Doesn't anyone notice that most of Jaden's opponents lately have B has their first initial...or is that just me?)**

"Sure man whatever...," Belowski drew his first card, after turning on his disk and drawing his hand, "Alright, first I'm gonna summon Mokey Mokey (300/100) in defense modey modey!" he laughed as he placed his card onto the field.

As soon as the card touched the disk, a small, white square with wings and a strange halo over it's head arrived.

"Mokey Mokey...," it squeaked.

-----

"Goodness me, that's not a monster, that's a marshmellow!" Bastion exclaimed, smiling.

"He's so cute, like a big, fluffy pillow!" Alexis squealed, smiling as well.

"Makes me wanna take a nap...," Syrus added, smiling too.

Siho looked down at his friends and frowned slightly, noticing that they were acting strange. Still looking at them, he nudged Christina, "Oi, Chrissy, check this out,"

"Mokey mokey...dude...mokey mokey...,"

"Wha-?" Siho turned to see Christina with a dreamy smile on her face, her head going from side to side, "Oh c'mon, what's up with you guys? Kairi!" he looked down, hoping to see that Kairi was normal, but was disappointed as he saw both Kairi and the newcomer from Obelisk were in the same state as the others.

-----

"Alright, I guess I'll just toss down a couple of facedowns and chill now," Belowski finished, placing two cards into his slots.

"My turn then!" Jaden drew his card, "What a turn it'll be. First, I'm summoning the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in attack mode, then I'll play," he took a card from his hand as his sparking Hero arrived, "The Spell card, Polymerization! Since both Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix are already in my hand, I can fuse them to create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

Jaden smiled as his favorite monster came to Sparkman's side, "Well, bud, still wanna duel me?" he asked Belowski.

To his surprise, Belowski laughed and clapped, "Totally man! Those monsters of yours are _righteous_!"

"Righteous?" Jaden blinked, "Not the reaction I was hoping for...,"

A light hooting from the right made him remember that his Little Kuriboh partner was next to his head. The little furball had arrived when Jaden first met this kid before everyone else found him, but with all the surprises, he kind of forgotten about him.

Jaden nodded, "You're right, Kuriboh...an attack oughta knock some sense into him. Sparkman, attack with Spark Shockwave!"

Belowski looked up as Sparkman jumped into the air, then began to descend onto his Mokey Mokey. He shook his head and pressed a button, "Your attack will not stand, man, I got a Trap card! It's called Human Wave Tactics. Wrap your mind around this: at the end of the turn, I get to Special Summon a monster, if it's the same level of the one that's destroyed...," he shrugged, "They hafta be Level 2 or below, but it's all about the balance man! The yin and the yang...,"

"Whatever that means," Jaden murmured, "All _I_ know is that my Sparkman's attack is still happening!"

Sparkman's hands gathered a ball of electricity and launched it into the marshmallow creature, blowing it up.

"Now that your Mokey Mokey is gone, my Flame Wingman can attack you directly!"

Belowski watched as the Fusion Hero flew into the sky, then came down, leg outstretched, flames engulfing it.

"Dude...,"

The flaming foot connected and Belowski was sent to the floor, groaning from the attack.

**B: 1900  
J: 4000**

"Now I'll call it a turn, Belowski," Jaden said, finishing up his turn.

"Oh...that was _very_ unchill dude," Belowski murmured as he sat back up, "But now I can summon Happy Lover (800/300) thanks to Human Wave Tactics, and since Happy Lover likes to spread the love, I'll bring back his buddy Mokey Mokey in attack modey modey!" he grinned, placing another card onto his disk.

"Mokey Mokey...," another winged marshmallow appeared next to Happy Lover.

-----

Contented sighs spread through the audience as the second Mokey Mokey came to the field.

"He has such a calming presence, doesn't he?" Bastion mused.

"Mokey Mokey makes everything so chill...," Alexis sighed happily.

Jordan nodded slowly, "Dude, Cuz, you are so totally right...,"

Syrus smiled, "Makes me feel warm and fuzzy...,"

Siho slapped himself in the face, "Aiya...Chrissy, I hope you're not as bad as these guys," he turned to his friend, "Oh for the love of Ra...,".

Christina was leaning on the edge, looking extremely calm and relaxed.

"Chrissy...come back away from the edge...,"

"Naw, dude...it's cool!" Christina waved at him before falling over the side.

Siho crawled over and leaned over the edge to see Christina laying facedown on the floor, "Chrissy, are you ok?!"

"Hi floor, make me a sammich **(1)**!" her muffled reply came.

_Yeah, she's ok..._ Siho groaned, turning back to the duel.

-----

"That's just the beginning man," Belowski continued, inserting a card into his disk, "Next, I play the card Mokey Mokey Smackdown, then I think I'll attack your Sparkman with my Happy Lover...," he grinned goofily.

"What for? Sparkman's got _way_ more attack points than your Happy Lover!" Jaden reminded him.

"I know, man, but it's all good...," he turned to his Happy Lover, "Go, Gushy Burst...,"

The small, winged fairy fired a stream of pink and purple energy at Sparkman, who easily batted it away and the attack doubled back, hitting the Happy Lover head on, blasting it to pieces.

**B: 1100  
J: 4000**

"MOKEY MOKEY! MOKEY MOKEY!" the other monster screeched, eyes bugging out of it's square body. As it cried out, it changed color from light-blue to bright red, cheeks turning dark red while a vein appeared on the side of it's head.

"Oh wow...look at Mokey Mokey go...," Alexis sighed.

"I can watch him all day...," Bastion added, smiling.

"Yeah, he's the best!" Jordan shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

Belowski smiled, "Yeah, he is...," he looked at Jaden, "Since your Sparkman just destroyed a Fairy-Type monster, my Mokey Mokey Smackdown card activates, and that raises my Mokey Mokey's power to 3000! Far out, huh? Power to the Mokey Mokey...," he laughed.

"No way!" Jaden stared as the Mokey Mokey was engulfed in a bright light, still crying out it's out name.

Mokey Mokey (3000/100)

"You go, Mokey Mokey!" Alexis, Syrus and Jordan sighed happily.

"Yes, and we're going right with you!" Bastion added as they all clapped together.

"Dude...Kristerr...I don't think you should have a different spot...this is _so_ awesome," Kairi whispered.

The Obelisk nodded, "Totally...,"

"Oh c'mon you guys!" Jaden turned and lightly glared at them, "Who's side are you guys on?!"

"Mokey Mokey's, duh, dude!" Jordan half-snapped, grin on his face.

"Now where was I?" Belowski rubbed his head as Jaden fell over at the comment, "Oh yeah, I was gonna have my Mokey Mokey attack your Flame Wingman,"

"Huh?!" Jaden stepped back, "Oh boy...,"

"No worries, dude...," Belowski smiled as the air around his Mokey Mokey began to distort and wave, "The Mokey Mokey Wave is _full_ of good vibrations...well, maybe not good for your Wingman, though,"

Jaden watched as the vibrations through the air caused his Flame Wingman to explode, as well as causing his Life Points to go down.

**B: 1100  
J: 3100**

"Mokey Mokey...Mokey Mokey...!"

Jaden growled and glared at his friends, "What's _with_ you guys?!"

Siho shrugged, "That's a very good question," he glanced at Belowski, "Well, you gonna answer him or what, _dude_?"

Belowski grinned, "Aw, they're alright, guys...they're just feeling the Moke...,"

"The Moke?" both Slifers asked together.

"Yeah...the Moke's all about_ harmony_ man," Belowski explained as he inserted a card into an empty slot, "It gets better, 'cause I play Mystic Wok. Just like a sizzlin' plate of kung pow tofu, Mystic Wok refills my energy. But balance dude, I only gain Life Points to that of the attack points of the monster I sacrificed. So I'll sacrifice Mokey Mokey...,"

The fuming Fairy cried out again before disappearing from the field in a flash of light.

"So that's three grand in points!"

**B: 4100  
J: 3100**

"And since Happy Lover's gone, Human Wave Tactics restores balance to my universe! All I gotta do is choose _which_ balance," Belowski paused and looked through his cards before placing a card on the field, "I'm thinking Haniwa (500/500) is my type of Zen...,"

Jaden stared as short, brown, round headed monster with very low points came to the field, "Haniwa?"

"Yeah...,"

"Oh man, what next?!"

"Hey Jaden...,"

The Slifer turned to see everyone was sitting indian-style on the floor...everyone except Chumley and Christina, who were both crashed out, sleeping. Jordan, Alexis, Kairi, Syrus, Jordan, and the other Obelisk were sitting close to each other, looking very chill.

Siho shook his head, "Don't lookit me, man," he held his arms in defense, "I ain't gonna mess with this,"

Bastion tilted his head, "You gotta chill out man...,"

"What?"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah...you can't bring all this negative energy to a duel, dude,"

"Totally...," Jordan wrapped his arms around his cousin, "Ya gots to go with _positive_ energy...,"

"_WHAT?!_"

"C'mon, sing with us, Jaden, sing our mantra!" Kairi and Syrus chimed in.

"_MANTRA_?!"

"Mokey Mokey!" the group cried in unison.

Jaden turned and glared at Belowski, "What did you do to my friends?!"

Belowski laughed, "Freed their minds, man...,"

"Mokey Mokey!"

"Okie dokie, Mokey Mokey!"

Siho groaned, _Methinks this kid had too much to smokey smokey before coming and playing Mokey Mokey..._

Before Jaden could play his next move, a familiar laugh reached his ears. Siho heard it too and they both turned to see Doctor Crowler wearing a suit of clothing that resembled a space suit, jump down from a nearby piece of marble stone.

"Oh Jaden...," the elitist called out as he descended, "I see you've met my favorite student, Belowski...," he, with the help of his suit, flew across the floor towards the little Obelisk. He put his arms on the boys shoulders, "I just love him...well, when I'm safe from his powers,"

"Powers?" Jaden repeated, not sure if he heard right.

Crowler nodded, "You see, Belowski is a very special duelist. You see, as a baby he was left on our doorstep here at the academy. While we raised him, he quickly became a master duelist. As a mere child, he rose through the ranks of the academy, and while that happened, strange things started to happen," he patted Belowski on the head.

"You mean the way he talks?" Jaden offered.

"Or did he start having private smokey smokey moments?" Siho cracked.

"_No_...," Crowler snapped, "I mean, Mokey Mokey comes alive when Belowski duels with him, powers and all! Powers that lull everyone around him into a lazy daze...," he nodded to the group, "Like your friends, and soon...like you,"

_This guy just won't leave Jaden alone, will he? Man, he can seriously hold a grudge_ Siho stood up and put his hands in his blazer pocket, _But this is strange. If what he says is true, how come me and him aren't affected by it?_

Belowski waved him off casually, "It's ok man, it's not like they're in any danger. Mokey Mokey makes them feel all nice and cozy," he explained.

"Indeed," Crowler nodded, "At one time, it made _all_ the school's duelists feel that way, and that is why we had to move Belowski. We built him a new home: a titanium encased holographic chamber deep underground...,"

_Deep...underground? _Siho frowned, _This place just keeps getting stranger and stranger. What the hell was Kaiba thinking when he built this place?!_

Jaden scowled at Crowler, "You mean a jail...,"

"Jail's such an ugly word," Crowler wagged a finger, "We prefer _Mandatory Restraint Habitat_. It was actually quite nice inside, just like a tropical island paradise,"

"Sure it was," Jaden snapped, "And just like an island, you stranded him there!"

Belowski shook his head slowly, "Naw, man, it was cool. I just chill and everytime there's a student Doctor C wants me to take care of, I get to come out, ya know, duel or whatever," he sniffed, "It's a pretty sweet gig,"

Crowler nodded, "That's right, my boy, that's right,"

"Plus, I got plenty of time to hang with my monster crew and spin our wheels and stuff," Belowski continued, "Dude, we have some _deep_ talks too...we're totally unravelling the universe. You should come!"

Jaden glanced to the side, hearing a hoot come from his furry friend, then looked back to Belowski and Crowler, "No thanks, we're good here. Dueling is _our_ thing, so how about we get back to it?"

"Hey man...that's chill," Belowski nodded, "Very chill...,"

"Alright!" Jaden drew his next card and placed it on the field right off, "I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)!"

Siho nodded as the tattooed wildman came to the field, hand reaching back for the giant blade on his back, _Nice..._

"Now, Wildheart, attack Haniwa!"

With a battle-cry, Wildheart leapt over to Haniwa and ran his sword clean through the monster, destroying him easily.

"Sparkman, your turn!" Jaden pointed to Belowski, "Light up his world!"

Crowler screamed and ran away just as Belowski was electrocuted from the second Hero's attack, some smoke rising from his body.

**B: 2500  
J: 3100**

"I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn," Jaden finished, placing a card into his disk, "_Dude_,"

Belowsi rose to his feet, "You know, you're a real party pooper, dude. Good thing I got Human Wave Tactics to summon a new Happy Lover," he laughed as another winged Fairy came to his side of the field in attack position.

Crowler looked at Jaden, then looked at Belowski, "Hey, why isn't he dozing off like the others?! Mokey Mokey is supposed to _drain _Jaden, but no! Look," he pointed to Jaden, "He's just fine! I mean, look at his friends!" Crowler then pointed to the now sleeping group of audience members, "Why isn't Jaden like that?!"

"Hey, I'm not asleep!" Siho yelled out, "No one's asking about me!"

Belowski looked at the sleepers, then Siho, then Jaden, "Search me dude...,"

"_That's _your answer?!" Crowler screeched.

"Aw man, it's all cool," Belowski drew his next card, "Watch, I'm gonna use my Pot of Greed and draw two more cards,".

Siho grinned as Belowski drew his extra cards, "Pot of _weed_ is more like it," he murmured under his breath.

"Far out! I got Dark Factory of Mass Production!" Belowski placed the card into his disk, "I know it sounds _so_ totalitarian, but it lets me bring back two monsters from the Graveyard to my hand," he reached down and took two cards, "and I"ll pick two Mokey Mokey's since I'm already holding the third...," he paused as there Mokey Mokey's appeared in front of him, "Then I'll combine them with the cosmic help of Polymerization to bring out _this_ little friend...,"

Siho and Jaden watched as a huge shadow covered the roof. A gigantic Mokey Mokey look-alike was now floating in the sky, right in front of the roof.

"_Little _friend?!" they both asked, "That's big!"

"You said it man," Belowski looked up at the gigantic pillow, "This is Mokey Mokey King (300/100)! Check out his special wave...,"

"Mokey Mokey King...," the huge monster breathed in a deep, loud voice before sending out a soundwave like it's smaller counterpart.

Jaden grit his teeth at the move, "Wildheart, use your Wild Slash on that thing!" he ordered.

Once again, his wildman with the giant sword leapt into the sky and brought down it's mighty blade, cleaving right through the Mokey Mokey King. The huge monster had a look of surprise and pain right before it exploded, sending three globs to the field. Each glob turned into a Mokey Mokey, the same ones that Belowski used to create the King.

**B: 1300  
J: 3100**

"Dude, that was so totally awesome man!" Belowski praised, "But the circle of life must go on. From one comes many dude, and with Mokey Mokey King's special effect brings back all three Mokey Mokey's,"

Jaden groaned, "That's just great,"

"C'mon Jaden, roast those marshmallows!" Siho clapped his hands, "Sooner you get this over with, sooner we can get the others back to normal!"

All three Mokey Mokey's combined their soundwaves and the area was soon filled with a high-pitched frequency that caused Crowler's helmet on his suit to explode, exposing the elitist snob to the soundwaves and powers of Mokey Mokey.

"Alright man...now Happy Lover, attack that Wildheart," Belowski pointed to the Hero, "Gushy Burst,"

Happy Lover flew into the air fired off a beam of love energy, a beam that Wildheart batted away and sent it back to Happy Lover, blowing it away completely.

**B: 600  
J: 3100**

"Aw man...look what you did to my little Mokey Mokey's!" Belowski shook his head as his three Mokey Mokey's turned red and each had a vein popping out of their heads, "Good thing Mokey Mokey Smackdown is still in effect, huh? Because now, they all get 3000 attack points!"

Mokey Mokey 1 (3000/100)  
Mokey Mokey 2 (3000/100)  
Mokey Mokey 3 (3000/100)

"This is _not_ sweet," Jaden muttered as a bead of sweat rolled down his head.

Belowski pointed to the wild Hero, "Mokey Mokey One, go get that Wildheart, and Mokey Mokey _Dos_," he pointed to the other Hero, "You're on the Sparkman,"

Once again, the soundwaves of Mokey Mokey emanated from the little monsters and spread to the other side of the field.

Wildheart was the first victim to be blown to pieces.

**B: 600  
J: 1600**

But before the soundwaves could destroy Sparkman, Jaden pressed a button on his disk.

"That's enough! I play a Trap card called Hero Barrier! As long as I have _one_ Elemental Hero on the field, I can negate an attack from one of your monsters!" he explained as a glowing barrier came between Sparkman and the second soundwave.

"Nice move man...but I still got one more Mokey," Belowski reminded him.

Sure enough, the third angry Mokey Mokey destroyed Sparkman with it's own soundwave, finishing the job it's predecessor failed to do.

**B: 600  
J: 200**

"And now, thanks to Human Wave Tactics, I'm allowed to bring out another Happy Lover for another go around," Belowski turned to see a third clone of the Fairy appeared, "Next, I'll play this way cool Trap card, called Gift of the Mystical Elf. Too bad it's not wrapped, but still, it's totally filled with good karma," he grinned as his monsters glowed, "I get 300 extra Life Points for each monster out!"

**B: 1800  
J: 200**

"Ugh...," Jaden lowered his head as the move was done.

Belowski looked at Jaden and blinked, "Dude...you're not lookin' too hot...wanna take a burrito break or somethin'?".

"Maybe later...but now," Jaden slowly drew his next card and held it out, "I'm summoning the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Belowski watched as the caped and water-equipped Hero came. He raised his hand to his chin in thought, "Wow...I gotta say, I'm impressed, dude. How do you keep dueling after all we put you through?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's something I'd like to know too," Siho added as the four Fairy's on Belowski's field tilted their heads, looking confused.

Jaden smiled, "Because I don't give up...especially in a duel _this_ much fun! Nah, I'm gonna keep fighting to the end," he looked at his Hero, "Especially with Bubbleman now out on the field. If he's the only one on my field when he's summoned, I can draw two new cards from my deck," Jaden paused and drew the said cards, "Now I'm gonna activate one of them. It's called Hero Heart! This lets Bubbleman attack _twice_ as long as I cut his attack points in half,"

E-Hero Bubbleman (400/1200)

"Now let's get to it. Bubbleman, attack Mokey Mokey!" Jaden ordered.

Siho's jaw dropped, "What's wrong with you, Jaden, did you get a little too much Mokey Mokey in your brain or something?!"

Bubbleman fired off a stream of water that burst on impact after hitting the first Mokey Mokey.

**B: 1700  
J: 200**

"Now you went and did it. Remember Mokey Mokey Smackdown?" Belowski pointed to his card, "Because of it's effect, both my Mokey's get 3000 attack points," he reminded him.

"Sounds like my kinda fight," Jaden smiled, "Bubbleman, attack Mokey Mokey again!"

_This guy's commiting duelist suicide_ Siho covered his eyes, "I can't watch this...,"

As Bubbleman leapt into the air and fired off another stream, Jaden placed a card into his disk, "Next, I play the card, Bubble Illusion! When Bubbleman's on the field and I play this, I'm allowed to play a Trap card from my hand!" he took the remaining card in his hand and held it out, "What better Trap than Mirror Gate?"

"Mirror Gate?" Siho lowered his hand from his eyes, "Oh you gotta be frickin' kiddin' me!"

"Thanks to Mirror Gate, both of our monsters switch sides," Jaden grinned as Bubbleman and Mokey Mokey went to opposite sides of the field, the attack still in play, "What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine!"

The bubble stream hit the newly converted Mokey Mokey head on, making the little guy even more angry.

"Alright," Jaden grinned wider, "Give him a taste of his own Mokey!"

Belowski stepped back as the soundwave from his old Mokey Mokey came back at him, 'This is...this is a bummer man...,"

Seconds later, the roof was covered in smoke as the Bubbleman exploded, sending Belowski skidding across the floor.

**B: 0  
J: 200**

Jaden walked over to him as Siho leapt off the block, checking on the others.

"That's game, Belowski...and what a game that was," Jaden put his hands on his hips, "I actually felt like you had me there a few times,"

Belowski looked up at Jaden and giggled, "Yeah, man, but I don't get it...why didn't you trance out?"

"Why would I?" Jaden shot back, "When I sleep, I dream of dueling, simple as that,"

"Ooh...," Belowski nodded, "I get it...I think. You love dueling so much, when Mokey Mokey tried to zonk you out, the more revved up you got," he yawned and fell onto his back, "That's good to know...for...next...time...," he yawned again, "But for now...I need a nice long nap...later...,".

With that, Belowski fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Siho stepped back and admired his work. He had re-positioned Chrissy and Alexis to make it look like that they were cuddling together. He tried to move Kairi, but apparently, she already had her arms around the Obelisk she had brought with her before the duel started.

"Well...that's all I can do," he scratched his head, noticing the content look on Kairi's face, "Now all I need is a camera," he murmured, looking at Alexis and Christina, "This shot could get me a _lot_ of money...,"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**(1) Borrowed this quote from Invader Zim. Figured GIR and Chrissy are somewhat alike, so it fit.**

**Yami K: well guys, that's this chap, and we hope you like it. My partner and I have a special treat for you guys next chapter! Oi, hikari, where are you!**

**Kilnorc: -stares at a blank TV screen- Dude...anyone else see a Kuriboh...right there?**

**Yami K: Oh for the love of Ra, not you too! -slaps forehead- Anyhoo, I guess I'll have to tell you guys myself. Thanks to an idea of a friend/reviewer, we've decided to make a special chapter for the holiday that's coming up. That's right, we're gonna make a special Valentine's Day chapter before the next ep in the show! Stay tuned, guys!**

**Kilnorc: Duuuude...anyone speak Kuriboh-ese?**

**Yami K: hikari, did YOU have a Smokey Smokey?**

**Kilnorc: no man...I don't need that stuff to be all Zen...**

**Yami: -.-" oh god...I'll see if I can get this baka straightened out. R and R folks!**

**P.S. Ideas for special V-Day chap couples, lemme know, I'll see what I can do.**


	35. Duelists of the Rose

**Duelists of the Rose**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**_My dearest Amazoness  
I have watched you from afar  
I've seen your blades, more or less  
When I see you, my heart jumps cars_**

**_Today, on this day of hearts  
I hope you enjoy these roses  
As much as you enjoy your cards_**

**_-Your Secret Admirer_**

"...this guy's not exactly the best poet is he?"

Christina shook her head at Siho's remark, then looked at the rose she was holding in her other hand, "No...but it _is_ a nice thought," she mused.

Today was Valentine's Day and for Christina, it began in a very unusual way. When she was getting ready in her room, she watched as her roommate giggle stupidly as she wrote a Valentine card. Then, as soon as she opened her door, she saw a rose lying on the ground with a envelope attached to it.

Siho snickered and patted his friend on the back, "Chrissy, congrats...you got a crappy poet for a boyfriend,"

_WHAP!_

"One, it's a secret admirer and two, at least I got something from someone!" she glared at him.

"Hey, you know we're not like that Chrissy!" Siho held up his hands, "I just didn't know I had to show you that with stuff I could I just get from a store!"

Rolling her eyes, Christina looked into the envelope and noticed something else. She held it upside down and a card fluttered to her feet. She knelt down and picked it up. It was a new Duel Monsters card.

"A rose, a badly written poem, and now a new card...," Siho clicked his tongue, "You hit the mother-lode, Chrissy,"

_WHAP!_

Christina walked away from the Slifer Dorm, placing the new card into her deck case and leaving Siho behind with a large lump on his head.

"I think it's time I try my luck against Rhodes again," Christina giggled, patting her deck as she walked, "Now all I gotta do is meet him like the email told me to,"

-----

"Kairi...,"

"Please? Just give it to him!"

"Why can't you give it to him yourself?"

"Because...I'm too nervous,"

"Well, I guess we _could..._I mean, we _do_ know him,"

Alexis tapped her chin in thought while Zane rolled his eyes. Kairi had come to them, with a large Valentine card in her hand. She wanted to give it to Kristerr, but was too shy to actually give it to him personally. Heck, she was so nervous, she didn't even put her name, just the words 'secret admirer' at the end of it.

Kairi bounced up and down, eyes wide, "_Please_? I'll owe you both _bigtime_!" she offered.

Zane rolled his eyes again and turned away, "Sorry, but I'm not into the love business, Kairi,"

"Well, you may not be," Alexis took the card and put into one of her pockets, "But, I'm sort of partial to the romantic areas of life. Don't worry, Kairi, I'll make sure Kristerr gets this," she promised.

Kairi squealed and gave Alexis a big hug, "Thank you! I don't care what other people say about you guys, you guys rock!"

Alexis and Zane watched her leave, then looked at each other, a little surprised.

"What do they say about us?" they asked in unison.

-----

Jordan sat on a log on the beach, wearing a pair of black swim trunks, staring out at the advancing and retreating waves of the sea. He had meant to come out here and enjoy the sun and surf, but for some reason, was unable to do so.

"Hey, Jordy...,"

"Jordy, hi!"

Groaning, Jordan turned around to see Mindy and Jasmine standing behind him, both wearing bathing suits and smiles on their faces.

"What do you two want?" he greeted, turning back to the view of the waves, "Alexis too busy to listen to you talk for hours on end?"

Mindy wagged a finger, "Now now Jordy...Jasmine and I are just here to help you out,"

"That's right, Jordy!" Jasmine took a seat next to him, "Call us Cupid's Helpers because we're here to help you out with the mystery called love!"

Jordan facefaulted and looked at them both like they were nuts, "Oh God, what have you two done?" he asked slowly.

"Us?" Mindy feigned innocence, "Why we didn't do anything...,"

"...that Cupid himself wouldn't do!" Jasmine reached behind her back and pulled out a Duel Disk, "You'll need this,"

Jordan didn't even look at it, "What...did...you...two...do...?" he asked again.

"Oi, Rhodes! We gonna duel or what?"

Hearing the voice, Jordan nearly fell backward off the log, but quickly caught himself.

"Chrissy?!" he turned his head around to see the Slifer girl walking up to them, "W-what are you doing here?"

Christina frowned as she came closer to them, "You sent me an email this morning, remember? You wanted to meet at the beach,"

"Uh...oh...right," Jordan glared at Mindy and Jasmine, then turned to Christina, "Excuse us, please?"

"Sure, just hurry up,"

"Thank you...," Jordan grabbed his cousin's friends and dragged them off to the side, "Alright, you two have some explaining to do. _What did you do?!_"

Mindy pulled out of the Ra's hold, "Jaz and I have seen how you act around her, Jordy,"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh please, it's like, so obvious!" Jaz held up a few fingers, "You stare at her sometimes, you write her name in your books-,"

"What, you guys been in my stuff?!"

"-also, Lex told us that it'd be good if you try your luck with her," the Obelisk girl finished.

Jordan stared, wide-eyed at the two girls, "But...why the duel challenge?"

"Pfft," Mindy handed him the Duel Disk while Jasmine walked over and gave a spare one to Christina, "If we know you two, the love bond between you two will appear and grow through the duel!"

She turned him around and ushered him back to where Christina was waiting for him, "Now...go on, and let the love bloom!" she whispered, handing him his deck.

Jordan growled as Jasmine and Mindy walked to the sidelines, _God, I'm gonna kill those two..._

"We gonna do this or what?!" Christina snapped, inserting her deck into her disk, "C'mon...third times a charm!"

Jordan sighed and lowered his head as he inserted his deck, "If you say so, Chrissy...if you say so...,"

"Ok then, let's duel!"

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

Jordan drew his hand, then his sixth card, "Let's see...I'll place one card facedown, then I'll play the Spell card Cost Down!" he took a card from his hand and slipped into his Graveyard, "By discarding one card from my hand, any and all monster cards in my hand are downgraded by two levels. This comes in handy since I now summon Blowback Dragon (2300/1200)!" he explained as he placed the card onto the field.

Whistling, Christina looked at the first monster to make an appearance on the field. It had the lower body of a lizard that walked upright, but the torso was stranger. It looked like a strange version of a pistol, sunlight glinting off of it.

"Daaaang...nice card,"

"Thank you, I end my turn," Jordan glared at the two Obelisk girls again. The two of them didn't seem to mind it at all, they were smiling at the duel.

Christina drew her card, "Alright...first, I play Shield & Sword to switch your monsters attack and defense around...,"

Blowback Dragon (2300/1200) - (1200/2300)

"Next, I'll summon Amazon Archer (1400/1000) in attack mode!" Christina smiled as a light-haired teenage girl with a well-crafted bow came to her aid, "Next, I play the Spell card, Double Attack! By sending a monster card that's a higher level from my hand, namely my Kiryu," she paused and slipped the mentioned card into the slot, "A monster of a lower level on the field can attack twice in the same turn!"

_Oh great..._ Jordan frowned, _That means her Amazon is gonna do more damage this turn than I thought!_

"Amazon Archer, attack with Arrow of the Amazon, destroy Blowback Dragon!"

The light-haired Amazon pulled back her bow and fired off an arrow, sending it straight into the dragon's chest, blowing him to pieces.

**C: 4000  
J: 3800**

"Do it again, Amazon Archer, hit Jordan with Arrow of the Amazon!"

Jordan groaned as the holographic arrow went straight through his bare chest. For holograms, sometimes the pain dealt through Life Points smart like hell.

**C: 4000  
J: 2400**

"I'll end my turn, now. You're move, Jordan,"

Jordan drew his card, then pressed a button on his disk, "I play the facedown Trap card, Call of the Haunted to bring back the card I tossed when I activated Cost Down. Barrel Dragon (2600/2200), come to me, my old friend!" he commanded.

Both duelists watched in silence as another Machine monster, this time one with three long barrel on it's body crackling with electricity, came to the field.

_Sorry to keep you waiting, Barrel Dragon..._ Jordan looked down at his disk, mind drifting to when he first recieved the card he had just played.

-Flashback-

_"Jordan, what's wrong?"_

_Jordan looked over his shoulder to see Alexis walking up to him, still wearing her elementary school uniform. He had been depressed over something, but he didn't want to tell her anything. He turned away, holding his deck in front of him._

_"Nothing, big sis...,"_

_"I know you're lying, Jordy...," Alexis walked around and sat in front of him, "C'mon...what's wrong? Bad day at school?"_

_Jordan looked away, "...I lost another duel,"_

_"Oh...,"_

_"I'm not any good...," Jordan clutched his deck, "I try and try, but I can't seem to get a strong enough monster to beat anyone! Not even big bro...,"_

_Alexis smiled a little and reached into her pocket, "In that case, I have something for you. Mom took me to a card store right after school today and I found a card that I thought would be perfect for you,"_

_"Huh?" Jordan snapped his head to her, "You...did?"_

_"Mhm," Alexis took out a single card and held it out, "Hope you like it!"_

-End Flashback-

_I did like it...hell, I loved it! Ever since I got Barrel Dragon from Alexis, I became more confident in my skills as a duelist _Jordan smiled, looking back at Christina, _Now, you're gonna help me beat her for the third time!_

"I activate Barrel Dragon's special ability!" Jordan paused as a hologram of a coin appeared, "If this coin is tossed and it comes up Heads 2 outta 3 times, I get to destroy a monster on your side of the field,"

The coin flipped into the air and hit the sand. Heads.

The coin flipped into the air again, then hit the sand once more. Tails.

For the last time, the coin flipped into the air and landed in the sand. Heads.

"Say goodbye to your Amazon Archer!"

Christina growled as her monster was blasted by a beam of power from Barrel Dragon, "Oh...you did it now,"

"I did something alright...made myself an opening!" Jordan grinned, "Barrel Dragon, attack Christina directly with Tri-Barrel Blast!" he ordered.

Jasmine and Mindy looked away as the triple blast of energy knocked Christina onto her back, sending sand everywhere.

"Ooh...that's gotta hurt," Jasmine winced.

"All that sand in her hair...," Mindy shook her head, "It'll be a mess to clean up,"

**C: 1400  
J: 2400**

Jordan nodded as his monster returned to him, "I end my turn,"

"Damn...," Christina drew her card, "I play the Spell card, Pot of Greed," she drew two more cards, "Sweet...time to meet an old friend," she smirked, "I play the Ritual Spell card, Hamburger Recipe!"

"Oh...crap...,"

"Damn right!" Christina placed a card into her Graveyard slot, "By offering a monster or monsters whose level equals that of the monster I'm trying to summon, I can bring it out! I summon Hungry Burger (2000/1850), quickly followed by the Equip Spell card, Ritual Weapon to boost it's power by 1500 points!"

Hungry Burger (3500/1850)

Jordan gulped as the newly summoned, and now futuristic heart attack on a bun came to Chrissy's side, _Not this again...!_

"Hungry Burger, destroy Barrel Dragon!"

The sci-fi movie and fast food reject screeched before latching onto Barrel Dragon's body, rapidly chomping on it like crazy. Jordan held up his arm as it was eaten, not really wanting to see it be destroyed.

**C: 1400  
J: 1500**

"That's it for me...,"

Jordan drew his next card, _Nice...with this card, she'll be too afraid to attack me! _he thought with a grin, "I summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode!"

"Reflect Bounder?!" Christina gaped as a strange monster in red, with a perfectly round circle in the middle of it's body rose from the sandy ground, "Oh that's just _beautiful!_"

"So you know what it does?"

"Yeah...yeah, I know," Christina grit her teeth, "Unless I want my attack to come at me, I can't do anything right now...,"

Jordan nodded, "I think I'll end my turn with that,"

_Oh great...with Reflect Bounder out, I can't do much now..._ Christina looked at her deck, _C'mon, gimme some love here!_

She drew her card and stared at it, smiling, _Well, waddya know?_

"I place one card facedown, and end my turn," she declared, slipping a card into her slot.

"Seems that's all you _can_ do," Jordan drew his next card, "Time to end this! I summon Drillago (1600/1100) to the field, then I play the Spell card Limiter Removal to double both my monster's attack points, since they're both Machine-Type monsters,"

Drillago (3200/1100)  
Reflect Bounder (3400/1000)

"I hope you didn't forget my Drillago's special ability...," Jordan folded his arms, "He can bypass your monster and attack you directly! Drillago, give her the drill!"

Christina only smiled as the drill covered monster rocketed past her fast food creation. She pressed a button on her disk, "Activate facedown Spell card, Mystik Wok! I sacrifice my powered up Hungry Burger in order to gain Life Points equal to it's attack points!"

Her monster disappeared and soon, it's life energy poured into her disk, raising her Life Point meter by a large amount of points.

**C: 4900  
J: 1500**

However, those points were taken as soon as Drillago made contact with her body.

**C: 1700  
J: 1500**

_Ow...dammit! _Chrissy winced as the drill monster returned to Jordan, _Thank God for that card. Dunno who sent it, but I'm loving it!_

"I end my turn here...," Jordan cracked his neck, "I'll get you next turn,"

Mindy and Jasmine looked at him, that at each other.

"Doesn't he realize Limiter Removal's effect?"

"I know, what's he doing?"

Christina looked at the two, having heard the conversation, "Oi, what do you mean?" she yelled out.

"OH MY GOD, I TOTALLY FORGOT!!"

Jordan's eyes bugged out as he tugged at his hair. His monsters monsters crumbled into dust, leaving him wide open.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Jordan wacked his head, "I forgot that part! At the End Phase of my turn that Limiter Removal is used, all monster effected by it are destroyed!"

Christina smiled widely, then drew her next card, "Well then...looks like it's my lucky day! I summon Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) to the field in attack mode!" she cried as her falcon-like warrior with twin blades came to the field, "Like Drillago, he has a nice effect. He can attack twice in the same turn, so we're through with this duel. Hayabusa Knight, attack him with Double Strike!"

Time seemed to go very slow through Jordan's mind as the bird-warrior flew to him, the swords gleaming in the light. As the swords passed through him, Jordan smiled a smile that only he would know was there.

_My Dearest Amazoness...Happy Valentines Day_ he thought as his Life Points went down.

**C: 1700  
J: 0**

-Flashback-

_"You sure about this Lex?"_

_"I'm sure, Jordan. Look, from what I know of Chrissy, she's alot like Jaden. She loves to duel like him, and I've seen her buy a **lot** of cards from Miss Dorothy's store, so this will be great. Besides, you said yourself it would help her do a good combo with her Burger monster right?"_

_"Yeah...but, I can't give it to her upfront, I'm too nervous!"_

_"Well then, do what some people did to me on Valentine's Day, Jordan, send it with a rose and give it to her with an anonymous name. That way, you will be able to give her the gift, and you won't embarass yourself,"_

_Jordan shrugged and looked at the Mystik Wok card, "Yeah...that sounds good,"_

-End Flashback-

Christina danced a little at her victory while Jordan sat up from the sand.

"Uh-huh...go me...go me...go me...uh-huh," she spun around, "It my birthday, it my birthday...,"

Mindy and Jasmine sighed at Jordan's defeat.

"I guess we were wrong...,"

"Seems like it...,"

"Damn right you were wrong!" Jordan looked at them, "If I had any feelings for Chrissy, I'd come out and say it!"

"But...we saw her name in your books...," Mindy reminded him.

Jordan shook his head, "I wrote down her name, because I was making a profile on her deck and I had to get her name into it!" he hissed, "See what happens when you snoop? You do stupid things, and stuff like this happens!"

Both Obelisk girls lowered their heads, "Sorry Jordy...," they said together.

"And don't call me Jordy!"

-----

Kairi trudged her way towards her dorm room, the moon hanging in the sky. She had sent the card to Kristeer hours ago, but never got anything back. Well, that wasn't surprising, really. The two of them really weren't on the same wavelength, but the least he could've done was sent a card!

Then she slapped herself in the face.

_I sent it in as anonymous! _she groaned.

"Ah, Kairi! There you are,"

The Slifer girl looked up to see Professor Banner walking up to her, something behind his back.

"Hi, teach, waddup?" she greeted, brightening her face.

Banner smiled, "I'm not exactly sure on 'what's up', but someone came by looking for you,"

"...really?"

"Yes," Banner nodded, "An Obelisk boy. He said he wanted to thank you for the card,"

_How did he know about it? The only people who knew I wrote the card were..._ she mentally slapped herself in the face, _That's the last time I trust those two!_

"Anyway, since he couldn't find you, he wanted me to give you this the next time I saw you," Banner pulled out a Duel Monster plushie from behind his back. It was a Winged Kuriboh plushie with a card resting between it's claws.

**Happy V-Day, Kairi.**

The Slifer squealed after reading the big bold words and snatched the plushie away from Banner, holding it close.

Banner smiled and walked away, Pharaoh walking behind him.

"Young love...,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Mwahaha...done a day before the holiday! Booya! Ok, I'll stop acting weird now. Hopefully, I got the duel right...anyhoo, peace out ya'll!**

**P.S. the combo with Hungry Burger and Mystik Wok, that idea I owe to Phantom 1 for coming up with it. I just added Ritual Weapon into the recipe, so to speak, hehehe.**

**Ja ne!**


	36. Gauntlet: Princeton vs Czar

**Gauntlet: Princeton vs Czar**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Having a boat on the sea is usually a good thing. People use it to relax, to have parties, or even just have a great time fishing. In Chazz Princeton's case...it wasn't so fun _or_ relaxing. Why? Well, there's something about your family's yacht slowly sinking under the waves as dense fog kept any passerby's from seeing you, that takes the fun out of boating.

Chazz sat at the tip of the sinking yacht, duel disk between his legs and a bottle of water in his pocket. He may have been stranded, but he didn't give up at all. What he _did_ do, was reminisce about his exploits at Duel Academy before running away after his humilating defeat at the hands of that Ra student, Bastion Misawa.

"Lousy scrubs, it's all _their_ fault," he spat, eyes focused on his disk, "Doctor Crowler, Bastion..._Jaden_...,"

"_Hey Chazz, let's go, get your game on!"_

Chazz glared at the hallucination that had manifested since the boat started to sink. Jaden's face would appear out of nowhere and talk to him as if Jaden himself were really there.

"Quiet!" the former Obelisk snapped, "Or I'm gonna wipe that ugly grin right off your face!"

The imaginary Jaden waved idly at him, "_Take your best shot, Chazz!_"

Chazz looked down, grabbed his disk and placed it on his arm, "If only I _could_...," he murmured, looking at his deck, "Just _one_ more duel, that's all I want!"

"_Really? That's **all** you want?_" Jaden's image asked with a grin, "_I'd want not to be stranded!_"

The former Obelisk growled and swiped his arm at the image, "SHUT UP!". A loud beeping made Chazz look at his disk just in time to see the power go out.

Shaking his head, Chazz began to laugh as he leaned back against the railing. "Stranded?" he reached for his water bottle, "I'm not stranded, I'm fine!". He opened up the bottle and put it to his lips, expecting a refreshing liquid to quench his thirst, but nothing came.

Chazz eyed the bottle and saw that no water remained, "A little _thirsty _maybe...,"

"_You know what I'm thirsty for?_" Jaden's face appeared in front of him again, "_Another duel with ya, Chazz!_"

"Duel this!" Chazz tossed the bottle, then watched in horror as it passed right through the image and flew into the sea, "Oh no!"

He shot to his feet and reached for it, but lost his footing and fell into the murky, cold depths of the ocean. As he sank further and further into the sea, hundreds of air bubbles escaped his body as a large dark form sped towards him.

_I'll get you for this, Slacker!_ Chazz screamed in his mind as his vision began to go dark, _I'll get you...!_

Then, it all went completely black.

-----

"Hey...hey Boss, rise and shine!"

A small glowing orb floated around Chazz's unconcious form, weaving from left to right in front of his face.

"Up at at'em...hellooo?"

The orb stopped bouncing and looked at Chazz, who was still unmoving.

"C'mon wake up!" it yelled, smacking the boy in the face, "Alright...guess I gotta do my wake up dance an-GACK!"

Chazz held the glowing ball, irritated at the sudden light and annoying sound. He squeezed it until it popped into nothingness. Opening his eyes, Chazz saw that he was no longer in the water, or even his own boat. He was lying on a cold, wet, metal floor while seaweed hung from the ceiling and fish flopped helplessly nearby.

"Good morning, young duelist...," a quiet voice greeted.

Chazz groaned as he sat up, "What's going on?" he turned to the source of the voice and was startled at what he saw, "Or better yet, what are _you_?!"

Sitting across from him, a large, bulky form sat on the floor, nearly covered in seaweed. A yellow scarf covered the lower half of it's face while huge goggles covered the top half. It wore a heavy red coat and white gloves.

The figure chuckled as it looked up from a deck of cards in it's hands, "I'm the person that saved your life, and for now, that's all you need to know,"

Chazz frowned, "Wait a minute...," he looked at his duel disk to see that the deck slot was empty, then glared at the figure across from him, "Those are _my_ cards! Give them back!" he demanded, holding out his hands.

"Oh, certainly! How rude of me...," the being reached outward as if to give the duelist his cards, but instead of giving them to Chazz, it opened it's hands all the way and let every single card drop into a nearby puddle, "Woopsie,"

"Jerk!" Chazz was about to get up and run at the figure, but stopped when his mysterious figure tossed a card to him. Barely catching it, Chazz looked at the figure, somewhat surprised.

"_That_ card more than makes up for it,"

Chazz glared, "It _better_...," he looked down and facefaulted at the sight. The card was a monster with very low points, and a horrible picture of a small yellow creature with eyestalks, posing in a pair of red bikini briefs.

"What is this?! It's just a no-name, I don't need this!" Chazz snarled, raising his arm, about to toss the card.

"Wait!" the figure cried, "Stop! That is the card that will change your life!"

Chazz looked at him, disbelievingly, "Oh, gimme a break!"

"I'll give you something far better...another chance to beat Jaden...,"

"How do you know about him?! Tell me!"

"You talk in your sleep," the figure replied simply, "From what you've said, this Jaden beat you badly in a duel,"

Chazz scoffed and looked away, "He was just lucky is all,"

"Lucky?" the figure chuckled, "Do you often run away from just luck?"

"_He's got you there, Chazz! You may be wearing blue, you turn yellow fast!_"

Chazz growled at the hallucination, then turned to his savior, "That's it! No one calls Chazz Princeton a coward!"

"Talk is cheap, young duelist," the figure shot back.

"That may be, but I'm rich," Chazz rose to his feet, "and I'll spend _whatever_ it takes to be the best out there!"

**(Author's note: "Screw the rules, I have money!" Ok, I couldn't resist an Abridged moment...carry on)**

Again, the seaweed covered form chuckled at his words, "That's your problem...no amount of money can buy you that. You must earn it if you can," it leaned forward, "and _that_ is precisely what we're going to find out. Good luck, young duelist,"

As soon as it said those words, the metal room the two of them were sitting in began to flood with saltwater. Chazz stuck the card into his blazer pocket as the figure waded through the rising water level.

"Remember to hold your nose...,"

The room soon filled completely with water, and just when Chazz thought it couldn't get any worse, a hole opened up in the roof above him and he was shot out of it. He shot through the water and just as he was about to lose all of his breath, he breached the water's surface and flew into the air, screaming.

Chazz landed hard on something hard and cold as ice. Slowly, he sat up and winced, "Crazy kook...you'll hear from my attourney about this!".

After he rose to his feet, Chazz was surprised at that location he was now at. The surrounding area _was_ a huge field of ice! Cliffs of ice, plains of ice, slabs of ice, and any other form of ice you could think of surround him. Off in the distance, a tall building stood proudly among the white wasteland.

"Heh...at least I'm back with civilization," Chazz smirked as he made his way towards the building, "Well, kinda. This place is kinda low-rent...but no problem," he adjusted his blazer collar to keep the wind from freezing his neck, "One phone call and I'm outta here! Only question is should I ask for the plane or the chopper?"

The former Obelisk walked and walked, eyes set on the building. As he came closer, he noticed that the part he saw before was a huge wall and in the middle of it, a very big wooden door. He stopped just feet from the door and looked the building, "Not bad...of course, _my_ pad is bigger,"

Chazz walked up to the door and pounded on it, "Open up! Let's go!" he yelled, "Is there anybody home?! HELLO!"

"Oh they're home...but you'll need forty cards in order for them to let you in,"

Startled, Chazz turned to see a man sitting a few yards away, huddled near a low fire. The man was balding, tufts of brown hair in the back of his head and a thin layer of stubble on his face. He wore tattered brown clothes and torn pants, as well as a duel disk on his arm. A sorry pair of round glasses completed the pathetic look.

"That's just the way things work here at North Academy...,"

Chazz frowned at the man's words, looked up at the door, and then made his way to the first human he had seen in sometime, "North Academy? So _this_ is Duel Academy's arch-rival...,"

The man nodded, "That's right. Here, take a seat next to me my friend. I could use some company," he offered, moving over a few inches, "After all, I've been here for a long while,".

Chazz eyed him, "So what's with the forty card thing?" he asked as he sat down.

"How it works is that there are hidden all around in glacial crevasses, on ice cliffs...it's sorta like a test," he turned to Chazz, smiling slightly, "Find forty cards and they'll let you in,".

"Hm...," Chazz looked at the man's disk and was surprised to see a deck inside, "So how many do _you _have?" he asked, looking back up at the man.

"Well, I've actually managed to find only thirty-nine cards," the man murmured, glancing at his deck, "But it took every ounce of strength that I had to do so...I'm too worn out to find that last card,"

Chazz chuckled and reached into his blazer, "Great, so you don't need the other thirty-nine. Here," he held out a small plastic card, "I'll buy them off ya. Go on, take it,"

The man looked at him, horrified and held his deck close, "No! Besides this fire and these tattered clothes, this deck is all I have left! These cards are priceless to me!"

Disgusted, Chazz rose to his feet, "Fine, whatever. I'll just find my own,".

As Chazz walked into the icy wilderness, the man at the fire watched him leave.

"Good luck, young duelist. In this barren wasteland...," he turned back to the fire, rubbing his arms for warmth, "you'll need it,"

-----

So, Chazz searched the barren land, looking for forty cards to collect so he could enter North Academy's gates to make a phonecall.

He climbed in and out of crevasses.

He pulled himself up tall cliffs.

He swam through freezing cold water to get every card he that lay in his line of sight.

_I can't believe I have to find forty cards_ he thought angrily as he searched the area, _Just to get North Academy to open their stinking doors for me. Talk about a school that's hard to get into._

-----

After what seemed like hours of searching, and through aching limbs, Chazz walked back to the front door, where the man from before was still sitting, huddled near the fire.

"I see you've been busy doing nothing," the snob muttered.

Surprised, the man rose to his feet and walked over, "You're back! Did you find all forty cards?"

Smirking, Chazz held up his duel disk, "Of course!"

The man nodded, "Good for you then. I suppose you'll be heading on to bigger and better things now," he lowered his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "Don't worry about me though, I'll be alright. Well...until the winter comes anyway,"

"Winter?" Chazz raised an eyebrow, "But I thought-,"

"No," the man shook his head, "See, _now_," he nodded to the area around them, "these are _summer_ months. It's quite lovely during the summer, and the fall is rather nice, only about thirty below...,"

"Uh...," Chazz stared at him, blinking.

The man held his arms again, "After that, however, it tends to get a bit nippy...,"

"Uh huh...,"

"But listen to me," the man shook his head, "I'm sure you'll want to get on your way,"

Chazz rolled his eyes, "Oh, quit your whining already, would ya, Baldy?" he snapped.

"Huh?" the older man looked at him.

Smiling, Chazz held up his deck of cards, "I lied about before. I didn't find forty cards, I found forty_-one_," he tapped his deck, "An extra one so you can come in too,"

'Baldy' gaped, "You mean...I get to enter? Really?"

"Yeah yeah," Chazz fanned out a few cards, "Just shut up and take your card,".

It only took a few moments for him to find a card he was willing to part with. He plucked the card that the weirdo from before had given to him, grinning.

"Here," he held it out, but as he did, Chazz's arm veered off to the left. Then, as he tried again, it veered off to the right.

_What the hell is going on?!_ Chazz glared at the card, not sure what was happening at the moment.

Baldy looked at him, a little confused, "Are you gonna give it to me or not?"

"It's my hand!" Chazz gripped his wrist, the hand with the card moving around with a mind of it's own, "It...won't let go!". That's when it happened. With a poof of smoke, a transparent yellow creature in bikini briefs appeared in front of his eyes.

"You can't get rid of me, Boss! We're pals, buds, best friends forever! You know, BFF!"

Chazz shocked at the creature, shook his head, "No, we're not!"

"What's going on?" Baldy asked, "Are you ok?"

"Don't you see it?!" Chazz hissed, looking at him.

Baldy frowned and looked around, "See _what_?"

The creature giggled and floated to Chazz, shaking it's bikini clad butt in his face, "Aw Boss, you're the only one who can see me!"

Chazz looked at the little freak, not liking this at all, "Go away!"

"Sorry, Boss," the creature floated around to his other side, "If we're gonna be partners, you gotta stop being so uptight!"

"You're not real!" Chazz swatted at the thing, "So get lost!"

"Get lost? Funny you should say that," the thing flew behind Chazz, "I have two brothers who are also lost. We oughta find them for our deck...,"

Giving up, Chazz shoved the card into his deck, making the freaky thing disappear, "Be quiet!". Noticing that Baldy was staring at him like he was crazy, Chazz plucked another card out of his deck and held it out, "Sorry, that was the wrong card," he held it out, "Take this,"

"Uh, sure, thank you. Whatever you say," Baldy murmured, taking the card, "I really appreciate this Mr...?"

"The name is Chazz Princeton and don't you forget it," Chazz looked Baldy over again, "On second thought, _do_ forget it. I don't people to associate me with _you_,". He walked back to the campfire and sat down, arms behind his head, "Now go ahead and get inside...The Chazz likes to make his own entrance,"

Baldy nodded, smiling, "Yes of course! Thanks again!".

As Baldy passed through the doors, Chazz sat on the ice, staring into the fire, "Thanks for nothing...I really only found forty cards, and now, I'm short one,"

"_Hahaha...I knew you were a nice guy!_" Jaden's face appeared again, laughing wildly.

"Shut UP!" Chazz turned and punched the hallucination. That's when he noticed something. A card lay beside him, just inches away from his leg.

"_When you're a nice guy, nice things happen to ya..._,"

Chazz snatched the card and headed towards the door. He looked up, holding his disk in the air, "Alright, open the door! I got your forty cards right here!".

A seconds passed until about five beams of energy beamed down from the top of the doorway and connected with his duel disk, as if scanning it. Moments passed and the beams disappeared, but Chazz's disk whirred to life, as if the power source was back on full battery. The giant doors creaked loudly as they slowly opened.

Chazz walked through quickly, then stared at the surroundings. There was only one street, and on each side was a row of wooden buildings. It sort of looked like one of those old American western movies he had glimpsed at times in his life. Strange thing was, for a school, there didn't seem to be anyone _anywhere_.

"_This_ is North Academy?" Chazz looked from side to side as he made his way down the road, "What a dump...,"

As he walked, a loud sound, the sound of glass breaking made Chazz turn to see Baldy being tossed out into the street. Without a second thought, Chazz ran over to him and knelt down, "Hey, you ok, Baldy?"

Baldy groaned as he lay on his back, then turned to him, "Wha-what happened?" he moaned.

"You got the North Academy welcome is what happened," a harsh, deep voice answered, followed by a laugh.

Chazz looked at the building where Baldy had been thrown out of to see a group of rough-looking teenagers in coats, wearing duel disks. He blinked and looked all around to see that he and Baldy were completely surrounded by people in similar garb.

_Where the hell did they come from? I didn't even hear them sneak up on me_, Chazz thought, taking in the people's faces. He looked back to the building and saw someone that fit the bill as the leader. Surrounded by a group of four other duelists, a large built young man in an orange and black vest sat on a rocking chair, duel disk on his arm. He had a cold look in his eyes, and matching short hair and goatee that gave him an intimidating look.

"Now, it's your turn," the large man chuckled, pointing to Chazz, "Think you're up to the challenge, new guy? Do ya?"

Chazz scowled, "Who are _you_?" he asked, looking him over.

"I'm the guy who runs things around here. People call me the Czar," the large man looked at Baldy, "Your friend here just through our little hazing ritual: a 50-Man Duel Gauntlet,"

"A 50-Man whatsit?"

"_Duel Gauntlet_," Czar repeated, "It's how we rank students around here. Why don't you go and tell him how it works, Kyle?" he asked a nearby duelist, a kid of short stature with a long front bang sticking out.

Kyle smirked, "See, you gotta duel fifty students...,"

"You start off with the lowest rank and work your way up," another of the four around the Czar continued.

The third nodded, "When you lose, _that's_ your rank,"

"Unless you _don't _lose," the fourth duelist near the Czar went on before looking at the large man himself.

Czar grinned, "Then you duel _me_," he jerked a thumb to himself, "Number 50,"

"But _everybody_ loses!" a duelist near Chazz scoffed, "Like your friend here. _He_ lost the first match he had!"

"But now, he's on latrine duty," another duelist chuckled coldly.

Chazz rose to his feet, smirking and looked at the group, "So I just have to win fifty times? That's it?"

"Easier said than done, rookie!"

The former Obelisk glared at the one who said that, "The name is Chazz. Chazz Princeton! And soon," he glared at them all, then pointed to the large man, "Your Czar will fall and the Princeton will rise!"

-----

No one predicted that Chazz would go as far as he was going, let alone actually duel fifty guys. As soon as one duelist fell, another took his place, and when he fell, another one took his. It was like this for hours and hours through the day.

Chazz smirked as his latest victim fell to the ground beaten, "You go bye-bye!".

The four duelists around the Czar watched Chazz as he progressed through the ranks.

"So what?" one with long, black bangs scoffed.

"Beating those amateurs doesn't prove a thing!" Kyle added.

"You still have to get through the four of us!" a chunky, brown haired duelist snapped.

"Only then can you duel the Czar," a brunette with glasses threw in.

Chazz cackled as he reshuffled his deck again, "Duel each one of you? I've wasted my time long enough as it is. I'll take all four of you on right now!"

The four duelists lined up, duel disks on and at the ready, "You're on!" they shouted together.

"DUEL!" the four of them and Chazz cried as the wind blew between them.

**D1: 4000  
D2: 4000  
D3: 4000  
D4: 4000  
CP: 4000**

"Me first!" the duelist with the long bangs drew his card, "C'mon out Marauding Captain (1200/400)!" he watched as a man with mop-style blonde hair, wearing a rusty suit of armor appear on his field, "But I'm not done yet! When this monster card is summoned, I'm allowed to summon another Warrior-Type monster so I'll play another Maruading Captain!"

Chazz, as well as the little yellow creature that hovered above his shoulder, watched as the three other duelists summoned the same monster over and over until eight Marauding Captains stood shoulder to shoulder, swords at the ready.

"Oh, and in case you forgot, Rookie," the first duelist grinned, "When there's two or more Marauding Captains on the field, you can't attack any of them! Or any other warrior monster that occupies the field along with them,"

**(Author's Note: God I love that ability...to anyone and everyone with a warrior deck, GET THESE MONSTERS!)**

Kyle laughed, "Nah, he can't forget that, because he probably never knew it in the first place!"

"Good point, and now he'll suffer for it!" the chunky duelist sneered.

Chazz smiled, "Please, the only way you scrubs could ever make me suffer is you all keep talking like you are now. My turn," he drew his card, "I'll play two facedowns and one Giant Rat (1400/1450) in defense mode,".

A very large, blue furred rat holding a bleached white skull in it's paws appeared, huddled over between Chazz and his opponents.

"All you're throwing in is an overgrown rodent?! What a joke!" the duelist with glasses shook his head.

Chazz chuckled, "Perhaps, after all, he _is_ a weaker card. One card that the old Chazz never would've had in his deck. But I've learned something since I arrived here. I learned that life deals you all kinds of cards, and sometimes you gotta make best with what you got,"

"Aw that's so nice of you, Boss! You're talking about me aren't ya?"

"Actually, I wasn't! Chazz swiped at the little monster, "You're still as annoying, revolting and non-existant as ever! Got it?!"

His four opponents' faces turned to that of confusion as they watched Chazz scream and swing his arm at something.

"You're a disgusting, little yellow gremlin and I don't like you, so quit bugging me!!"

Even the Giant Rat didn't know what was going on, but it looked saddened, thinking it's master, who apparently had a problem with sight, yelled at it at the top of his lungs.

**(Author's note: ok, who has the urge to call the men in white coats right now?)**

"Disgusting, maybe, but yellow?" the first Czar duelist drew his card, "Get your eyes checked! Back to the duel!" he inserted a card into his disk slot, "I play the Allied Forces! This allows all Warrior-Type monsters a 200 point boost in power, for each Warrior-Type monster on the field, which means Marauding Captain is now at 2800 attack points!"

M.C. 1-8 (2800/400) each

"Now go, smash that rat!"

The first Captain ran to the Giant Rat and ran it's blade down the middle, splitting it into two pieces.

"He's defenseless, attack him, men!" Kyle ordered the rest of the Captains just as soon as the Rat disappeared from the field.

"Not so fast!" Chazz yelled, "I activate my Giant Rat's ability! It let's me summon an Earth-Attribute monster with 1500 or fewer attack points!" he slapped a card onto his disk, "So c'mon out Gyaku-Gire Panda (800/1600)!!"

With a loud roar, a large, angry looking panda with a bamboo stick appeared on the field, teeth baring down on the others.

"Aw, lookit the big teddy bear!" Chunky sneered, "It looks cuddly!"

"You may not think so after this...," Chazz shot back at him, "I play Gyaku-Gire Panda's special ability! For every monster on my opponent's side of the field, he gains an extra 500 attack points!"

The large panda practically tripled in size as it glowed with a strange red aura.

Gyaku-Gire Panda (4800/1600)

"Not so cuddly now, is he?" Chazz smirked, "Now, I'm gonna activate a facedown Trap card, Ring of Destruction!" he paused as a large ring of red grenades appeared around the Panda's neck, "This Trap card destroys one monster and all players take damage equal to that monsters attack points!"

"But why?" the duelist with glasses asked, "We'll all end up with zero attack points!"

"Not me...," Chazz shook his head as a large, green, fan-like ring appeared between him and his panda, "Ring of Defense! This Spell card protects me from _all_ damage!.

Every one of the four duelists watched in horror as the grenades glowed and the fan began to spin.

"You...go...bye...bye!" Chazz waved at them, smiling like a madman before the Panda exploded, causing not only the Marauding Captains to be destroyed, but a huge cloud of smoke to envelope the area. Chazz's fan forced the smoke away from him, and as the smoke cleared, he saw every one of the four other duelists were on the ground, moaning in pain.

**D1: 0  
D2: 0  
D3: 0  
D4: 0  
CP: 4000**

Chazz turned to the Czar who was waiting patiently in his chair, "Alright Granny, outta the rocker, you're up!"

Chuckling, the Czar rose to his full height as he inserted his deck into his disk, "And _you're_ going down. Because now it's the Czar against the Princeton and there ain't no way I'm getting shoved off my throne by you. Now, get ready for a Battle Royale!"

After a few moments, both Czar and Chazz stared each other down in the streets, the defeated duelists watching on from the sidelines.

"Duel!" they both shouted as their Life Points went up.

**CZ: 4000  
CP: 4000**

"Me first," Czar drew his card and looked at his hand, "I play two copies of the Spell card, Fiend Sanctuary! Now, I get two metal Fiend Tokens (0/0), but unfortunately for you, they won't be staying long. I sacrifice them both to summon Zoa (2600/1900)!"

The two shiny figures appeared, then were quickly replaced by a huge, blue-skinned demon with powerful limbs, yellow fangs and small wings on it's back.

"Next, I'll place two card sfacedown and end my turn," Czar looked at Chazz, smirking, "Heh...already my field stacks! See how different it is with the Czar?"

"Won't matter, because it'll end the same. My turn," Chazz drew his card and facefaulted at what he had drawn. It was the weak card the weirdo from before gave him. He scowled, "_You_ again?!"

"Nice to see you to!" the little monster poked it's head from the card, "Need me to fight a monster fo ya? Let's do it!" the freaky yellow thing turned to see Zoa on the other side, "Oh...uh, nevermind...,"

Chazz looked at the creature, then Zoa, then smiled, "You know, I think I finally found a way to get rid of you!" he placed the card on his disk, "I play Ojama Yellow (0/1000) in defense mode!"

The little monster, Ojama Yellow, shook his head as he came to the field, "No! Not me, anyone but me, please Boss!"

Ignoring the pleas of his monster, Chazz continued his turn, "I'll place two cards facedown and call it a turn,"

"Time out...there's some garbage that seems to have been blown onto the field," Czar laughed harshly, "Oh wait, I'm sorry...that's just your monster!" he laughed as he drew his card. he looked at his hand, then pressed a button, "Oh well, he's going to be in for it anyway. I play the Trap card, Metalmorph, and equip it to Zoa!"

The huge winged-Fiend suddenly became all shiny in a flash of light. Chazz could even see his own self and monster in the body of the beast.

"Now, I'll sacrifice him while he's equipped with Metalmorph to summon something even better!"

Czar's monster disappeared as the dirt around them, along with lots of rocks seemed to be tossed into the air as it vanished.

"The ferocious Metalzoa (3000/2300)!!"

In Zoa's place, a huge monster with armor similar to that of a cyborg appeared. It had long, metal wings coming out of it's head, and each hand and foot had three long claws sticking out of the metal.

"Next, I'm going to activate another Trap card," Czar pressed another button on his disk, "Call of the Haunted! Now, I can bring back a monster from my Graveyard. So, I'll bring back regular Zoa!"

Chazz grit his teeth as the first Zoa came back to the field, standing alongside it's Machine counterpart.

Zoa (2600/1900)  
Metalzoa (3000/2300)

Once again, Chazz's imagination kicked in as Jaden's floating head appeared next to him.

"_Wow, two monsters with 2600 and 3000 attack points? What on earth are ya gonna do, Chazz?_"

"Easy...," Chazz grinned slyly, "I'm gonna win,"

Czar shook his head, smiling, "You know, it's crazy enough for you to talk to yourself, but it's even crazier to think that you're gonna _win_! You can't win, and you know why? I've watched you duel 49 times, I know your deck and I know you don't have _one_ monster that is stronger than my Zoa's,"

_Maybe_ Chazz thought as he stared the two monsters down, _But I know how to make the best out of what I got!_

"Alright, Zoa attack!" Czar pointed to Ojama Yellow, "Glimmer Strike!"

The first Zoa bent down and fired off a glowing X mark that soared towards the screaming monster. Chazz held up his arm as his Ojama was blown to bits, but it wasn't over yet.

"Now, Metalzoa, attack him directly with Hardened Glimmer Strike!" Czar shouted.

Like it's counterpart, Metalzoa fired off a glowing X mark that flew right into Chazz, taking off a huge chunk of Life Points.

**CZ: 4000  
CP: 1000**

Czar folded his arms, enjoying this very much, "The Prince's place is at the heel of the Czar, and that is exactly where I'm gonna put you!"

"...yeah, don't bet on it,"

"Huh?" Czar looked at Chazz, not sure if he heard him right.

"You see, I was _waiting_ for you to attack me so I can play...," Chazz pressed a button on his disk, "Inferno Tempest! With this card, when I take 3000 or more points of damage, all monsters in our Graveyards and decks are taken out of play!"

**(Author's note: Had that used on me one time...only had like seven cards left to use, LOL)**

"Why would you do that?!" Czar demanded, "What are you planning?!"

Chazz smirked, "If you know my deck as well as you say you do, I'm sure you know," he took his deck and took out all the monsters in it and the Graveyard, then placed the remaining cards into his deck slot, "And you know that your reign as Czar is coming to an end,"

"What are you talking about? I have two monsters out, you have none and now you don't have any in your deck! You've lost!" Czar grinned confidently, "My reign isn't over, it's stronger than ever! You're about to lose!"

"Oh...am I? We'll see here and now," Chazz drew his next card, "Alright Czar, now you're about to get royally crowned, and _not_ in a good way! I play the Spell," he held out the card he just drew, "Chaos End!"

Czar watched in horror as both of his Zoa's were soon completely covered by long jagged cracks in their bodies, "What's going on?!"

"Well, that's the magic of Chaos End," Chazz explained, "When seven or more monsters are removed from the game, Chaos End destroys every monster on your side of the field,"

Czar stared as his monsters were blown to pieces, "No way!"

"And now...," Chazz pressed a button again, "I'll play a Trap that's a blast from the past: Return from the Different Dimension! By paying half of my Life Points, every monster I removed from play are brought back to the field. Every last one of them!" he raised his arm to a swirling vortex in the sky, "Now, come on back, everyone!"

From the vortex, a Disc Fighter (1000/1000), a KA-2 Des Scissors (1000/1000), a Gemini Fiend (1000/1000) **(1)**, a Skull Knight #2 (1000/1200), and finally his Ojama Yellow descended.

The yellow creature smiled as it came back, "Thanks Boss!"

"Gr...I meant everyone _except_ you!" Chazz snapped, causing the almost naked monster to cry.

Czar looked, shocked at what was about to happen, "No..wait! Stop!"

"Stop? I don't think so!" Chazz pointed to the his opponent, "Now, give the Czar a king-sized clobbering, you guys!" he ordered.

Every single monster, save Ojama Yellow, let loose their own attack on the reigning Czar, hacking away at his Life Points as he helplessly took the damage. With a scream, Czar fell to the ground after the smoke from the attacks cleared up.

**CZ: 0  
CP: 1000**

"You go bye bye!" Chazz cackled as his opponent lay on the ground, barely awake from the damage.

"Well done...you truly deserve to be called the best,"

Chazz looked up from the Czar to see a familiar figure standing over the large man. He gaped and pointed, "It's you! The guy who rescued me!"

Indeed it was the man who rescued Chazz. The same person who wore the heavy red coat, the big goggles and the yellow scarf. Only difference now was that no seaweed covered him.

"But..how did you get into the school?" Chazz asked, staring at him.

The man chuckled and reached for his scarf and goggles, "Why, you let me in, of course,". Chazz watched in surprise as the goggles and scarf were removed, revealing the man's face. It was Baldy!

"Wait...," Chazz ran up to him, "So now you're the bad guy?"

Baldy chuckled, "I'm this schools Chancellor. My name is Foster, and that camp outside, the sub in the water...it was all just to get to _you_, young duelist,"

"To get to me?" Chazz scowled, not really liking how this was going, "What for?"

"You have a gift, Chazz, and I sensed it as soon as you handled that Ojama Yellow card," Baldy, or Foster now, explained.

"I hate that card!" Chazz spat.

Foster smiled, "You might now, Chazz, but you'll learn. Hopefully in time for the School Duel," he adjusted his glasses, "You see Chazz, since you've beaten everyone here, you're now the best North Academy has to offer. That means you'll be our representative in the School Duel,"

"So wait, I'm going up against someone from Duel Academy?" Chazz questioned.

"That's right," Foster knelt down to the unmoving duelist at his feet, "At first, we chose Czar, but clearly he's not as good as you are. Plus, I never really liked the guy anyway,"

Chazz scoffed as Czar woke up, "I don't blame you. What kinda duelist sits in a rocking chair?"

Foster looked at him, smiling, "It doesn't matter, now. You're the top duelist, you're the one to who the school bows!"

Sure enough, Czar scrambled to his feet, only to kneel at Chazz's feet, head bowed low.

Chazz couldn't help but grin, "So who's the unlucky punk I'm dueling?"

"Who?" Foster smiled more, "Why, the one I promised you. Jaden Yuki!"

"Jaden?!" Chazz's eyes widened, "You gotta be kidding!" he gasped as more and more North Academy students bowed to him from behind.

"No, I'm not," Foster shook his head, "Think of it, this is your chance for revenge!"

"Revenge...?" Chazz chuckled softly, "I can't wait. I'm gonna beat him so bad, he'll never wanna duel again!"

As more and more people bowed to him, Chazz laughed so loud, it echoed around the school and into the icy wasteland outside the school.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: whew...man, that was hard. anyhoo, looks like it's gonna get good next chapter, no? Stay tuned, ya'll!**

**(1) Uh...I couldn't find Gemini Fiend's DEF, so I just kinda winged it.**

**Yami K: uh, dude? You forgot something?**

**Kilnorc: hm? What i forget?**

**Yami K: -points to PC monitor- THAT...**

**Kilnorc: OO HOLY (BLEEP)!! 200 reviews?! OMG!**

**Yami K: I swear, how can you not notice that?**

**Kilnorc: -sniffs and hands out candy, plushies, money, and rare cards to all reviewers- thank you so much for the reviews! Glad to have you guys read and love my fic!**

**Yami K: ...you uh...need a moment?**

**Kilnorc: -nods and walks off-**

**Yami K: ...ok...anyhoo, next chapter is, again, one of the best duels Jaden has at Duel Academy! Stick around and read on!**


	37. Level Up! Part One

**Level Up! Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

On the night before the School Duel, North Academy was racked by a fierce thunderstorm. But these weather conditions didn't change the mood of the students inside the giant wall surrounding the school.

Everyone was gathered in a huge crowd, facing a tall formation at the end of the street. On the formation, Chazz and North Academy's Chancellor Foster stood, facing one another. Chazz no longer wore his Obelisk blazer from Duel Academy. Now, he wore a large black duster coat over his dark shirt and pants.

"Students of North Academy!" Foster raised his arms, "I present to you our school's new top duelist!" he cried, before holding out his hand to Chazz, "and now, I give to him our school's best dueling cards. With them, you will triumph! You...will Chazz it up!"

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

Chazz smirked as he took the cards, listening to the chant, and turned around, looking down at his fellow North Academy stduents.

"Duel Academy is toast!" he roared, raising a fist to the air. The crowd cheered and followed suit, each one punching the air with their own fists, chanting his name over and over again.

-----

"C'mon out, Elemental Hero Avian!"

Jaden smiled as his winged Hero appeared, wings outstretched and fists at the ready.

"Now, Burstinatrix!"

The Heroine in red quickly came to Avian's side, spinning rapidly before coming to a complete stop.

"While we're at it...," Jaden slapped two cards onto his disk, next to his other Heroes, "Clayman and Sparkman, come on out, you guys!"

The smile on his face grew as his faithful Heroes all came together, surrounding him, "Yeah...I got the sweetest monsters ever! With you guys on my side, we'll whoop whoever North Academy throws at us!"

"Jaden!"

"Hey, Yuki!"

Jaden turned to see both Syrus and Siho running into the arena, "Hey guys, waddup?"

"There you are...," Syrus slowed to stop, "C'mon, everyone's waiting for you!"

"For me? What for?"

Siho shook his head, "God, you're dense-ness astounds me more and more everyday. The Meet 'n Greet, Jaden," he pointed the way that he and Syrus came, "The guys from North Academy are here! Your opponent is here!"

"Well what didn't you say so?" Jaden leapt off the platform, his monsters disappearing, "Let's go!"

"_Vamanos!_" Siho turned and dashed after his fellow Slifer, Syrus trailing behind the both of them.

-----

Meanwhile, Chancellor Shephard, Crowler, and everyone else at the school were at the docks waiting as the North Academy's Chancellor stepped off of the bridge from the submarine.

Shephard beamed and shook the balding man's hand, "Foster, it's been far too long! You seem to be doing well,"

"Yes, well, I've had plenty of time to recover after that defeat you handed to us at last year's School Duel," Foster chuckled.

"Oh, that was a long time ago," Shepard said dismissively, "Besides, it was a close match,"

"Not really," Foster smiled, "But I have a feeling that this year, it will be,"

Shephard nodded, "Yes, I expect that as well! Well, here's to a spirited duel between our two schools,".

At that moment, Jaden managed to squeeze between Crowler and Shephard, and looked at both Chancellors, "Yeah, yeah, spirited. Now, c'mon where's my opponent?"

Shephard pulled away from the handshake and looked at his representative, "Yes, Jaden, we were about to get to that," he lightly scolded.

"Oh, great, I'll just wait until you get there,"

Foster looked at the Slifer curiously, "Jaden Yuki," he looked him over, "So _you're_ Duel Academy's phenom...?"

"Phenom?" Jaden snapped his head at the word, "That's the coolest thing I've ever been called, what's it mean?"

Shephard leaned over as Foster fell over at the comment, "It means be quiet!" he hissed.

"So, c'mon, c'mon!" Jaden urged, ignoring his headmaster, "When do I get to meet my opponent?!"

"Right now..._slacker_,"

Jaden blinked and looked past Foster, at the submarine where other North Academy students stood patiently, "Who just said that?".

The crowd dispersed and revealed it was an old rival from the beginning of the year.

"It was me,"

Jaden stared in shock at who answered him, "Whoa, hold on! Am I just seeing things or is that Chazz?!"

Chazz Princeton smirked and folded his arms, "You got that right, Slacker,"

"Well, why are you here?"

"For the School Duel,"

"I think it's sold out...,"

"I'm _in_ it!"

"What, like a ref?"

Chazz's eye twitched, "I'm dueling _you_!" he snapped.

"Wait...so you're North Academy's school rep?" Jaden asked confused, "Since when did _you_ transfer?!"

"When I stopped getting respect here," Chazz replied, never blinking.

"That's right!" another North nodded.

A large built man in an orange vest nodded, "He couldn't get respect, so he'll have to _take_ it!"

"He'll 'Chazz you up'!" a third chimed in.

Chazz nodded at his subordinates, "That's right!"

Both Chazz and Jaden stared each other down, probably thinking the same thing about the upcoming duel. However, the staring contest didn't last long as a loud whirring sound soon filled the sky and a powerful wind made everyone cover their heads.

"Now what?!" Jaden turned to see two helicopters coming down from the sky behind the crowd. In one of the helicopters, two men stood near the open entry way. One had a goatee and the other one didn't. The only things that were similar about them was the color of their hair, which was black, and the dark suits they both wore.

"Hey, Chazz!" the beardless one called out.

"What's going on, Little Brother?" the other one added, "Mind if we join in?"

Chazz's eyes widened at the two of them, "Slade! Jagger! What are _you_ doing here?!" he yelled over the helicopter blades.

"Why else?" Jagger yelled back as the helicopters landed and the engines began to die down, "We're here to see your big dueling victory!"

Slade nodded as he and his brother stepped out of the helicopter, glaring at Chazz, "You _are_ going to win, aren't you, Chazz?"

"That's it! Beautiful! Just act natural...,"

Now it got really strange. Despite the entrance of Chazz's siblings in helicopters, now the area was soon being invaded by men in things that looked like cherry picker trucks. Large cameras, hundreds of feet of cable and almost any other electrical device was soon carried around by the growing number of new people.

"Set on Camera 2!"

"We're almost ready on Cameras 3 and 4!"

Foster turned to the nearest person, "What's going on?"

"What's going on? I think you mean _when_ are ya going on, and the answer is primetime baby!" the man who looked like the man in charge answered, "This School Duel's gonna be broadcast world wide!"

Jaden's eyes widened and turned to the nearest camera, "No way! Me on TV, in full color, in full stereo?!"

Inside a nearby van, everyone watched as Jaden's face filled every TV monitor, his smile plastered on each copy of his face.

"Move over, Jaden!"

Christina, Kairi and Siho pushed him away and posed for the cameras.

"Hi mom!" Christina waved frantically, "Hi dad!"

"Hey, Ladies, Siho Zolaro here, and I'm single!" Siho posed as though he were on a singles magazine.

Kairi made some stupid faces while Siho kept changing his poses.

"Anyone dare me to moon everyone on world TV?" Siho asked, reaching down for his belt.

"OH GOD NO!"

-----

Chazz sat in a locker room, his brother standing across from him. They had brought him here, away from everyone else so that could have a small chat in private. Chazz looked up at them, looking disappointed that they came, "You set this all up, didn't you? This broadcast,"

Slade turned to him, "Of _course_ we did! We need to show the whole world that you're on your way to be Duel Monsters best, Chazz. It's all in the plan...,"

"Yeah yeah...," Chazz looked away, "I know, I know!"

"World domination is on our grasp, Little Brother," Slade went on, "Politics, finance and Duel Monsters! If we can take them all, we can take the world! Jagger and I have done our part, it's time you come to your part of the plan!"

"To conquer the world of Duel Monsters," Jagger urged, "To be the _best_! To not give up!" he glared at his brother, "Did you _really_ think you could get away from your duties? Get away from _us _by dropping out of Duel Academy?"

Chazz lowered his head, "I...I...,"

"Don't deny it!" Jagger yelled, rising to his feet, "You've always been the slacker of this family!"

Slade folded his arms, "It doesn't matter, the point is that you can still make this up, Chazz! You can still show everyone that we reign supreme!"

"That's right," Jagger reached over and picked up a nearbly briefcase, "And the dueling cards in this case will help you do just that! They're the most expensive out there, so you have _no_ excuse to lose!" he dropped the case onto the bench across from his brother, "Don't let us down, Chazz, don't let the Princeton family down! Now get out there and win that duel!"

With that, Chazz was left alone in the locker room, his only company was the briefcase of rare cards in front of him.

He stood up and walked to the nearest sink, head hung low. He stood there in silence, the words of his brothers fresh in his mind.

"Man up...man up...MAN UP!"

Chazz raised his arms and pounded on the mirror, "Man up, Chazz! Show them that Chazz Princeton is no slacker, that you're worthy of the Princeton name!" he sank to his knees, "Show them that you can win...and that you can keep...winning...,".

Tears leaked from his eyes, "Show them that your supreme...show them that you can still win...," he punched the floor, "Go and win, go and win!"

While Chazz had his little breakdown, he didn't notice Jaden's reflection in the mirror. He had no idea that his opponent and rival had just seen him lose himself like he did.

-----

It was time. The time for the School Duel to finally commence had come!

Every single seat in the arena was filled with a student from either Duel or North Academy. Everyone screamed and cheered from the top of the lungs, chanting their favorite's names as the camera crews made their rounds, catching every bit of the fanfare.

Foster and Shephard sat side by side, in the large crowd of North Academy students. The balding man smiled as he glanced at his colleague, "Same bet as usual, eh Shephard? You do remember, don't you?"

"Absolutely," Shephard nodded, "After all, old friend," he turned to Foster, "It's what makes this so special,"

On the sidelines, Jaden looked onto the field while his friends were giving him a pep talk.

"Ok, this is it. The duel against your rival,"

"You're arch-nemesis!"

"How ya feeling?"

Jaden glanced at Syrus, Siho, and Christina, "Eh, I'm fine,"

Chumley frowned, "Fine? Don't you mean 'sweet' or something?"

"No...," Jaden shook his head, I feel fine, it's just...I overheard Chazz talking earlier and well," he looked at Chazz, who was surrounded by his own group of fans, "It's just too bad that one of us has to lose this duel. I kinda know where he's coming from now. From what I hear, it's not exactly an easy place...,".

"Attention students!" Shephard rose from his seat, Foster following suit, "Welcome to the School Duel!"

Foster raised a hand, "And now...,"

"Let this year's competition begin!" they both cried.

Shephard looked to his right hand man, "Doctor Crowler, introduce the duelists!"

"With pleasure, Chancellor Shephard," Crowler walked onto the platform, a microphone in his hand and a camera crew moving around the platform, "After all, these are two duelists I know personally, and by personally, I mean i just adore them!"

"I'm sensing a potential pedophile here...," Siho whispered as he and the others took their seats, that luckily, were saved by Kairi and her friend, Kristerr.

"First, from Duel Academy-,"

The section of Ras, Slifers and Obelisks erupted into a huge uproar.

"Alright, settle down, settle down," Crowler waved his arm to one side of the platform, "Introducing, Jaden Yuki!"

More cheers erupted from Jaden's fans and friends as Jaden stood there, looking very calm despite the pressure.

Crowler nodded, "Yes yes, now, from North Academy-,"

"Get off the stage!"

"W-what?!" Crowler turned to Chazz, who was walking up onto the platform.

"I'll introduce myself, scrub...,"

Crowler glared at him, "I beg your pardon?!" he screeched, stomping his feet, "Scrubs don't have PhD's in dueling! I-huh?" he looked down to see that his feet were now tangled into the microphone's cord. Screaming, Crowler fell over the edge of the platform, landing hard on his face.

Jaden walked to the edge, looking at the fallen teacher, "Maybe you should go cordless next time,"

"Maybe you should shut up, Slacker," Chazz spat, walking over to him, duel disk at the ready, "It's Chazz Princeton's turn now! But then, I never did need an introduction, everyone here knows who _I_ am," he looked at the crowd of Duel Academy students, "Or _do_ you? You see, Chazz Princeton has changed! Sure, I used to be a classmate of yours, but the old Chazz left now, and the _new_ Chazz is here. Here to-,"

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"

Chazz nodded as his new friends yelled the chant, "That's right, say it again!" he barked.

"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up! No mercy, Chazz!"

"Got that right, boys!" Chazz yelled, before turning to Jaden, "Alright...game on, Slacker. Let's see what you got, Jaden!"

"With pleasure, Chazz!" Jaden shot back.

"No, the pleasure will be all _mine_, because you're goin' down!"

"DUEL!" they both yelled as their duel disks whirred to life.

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! BRING HIM DOWN CHAZZ!"

"Ask and you shall recieve!" Chazz drew his first card, "For my first move, I'm gonna summon a monster with some bite. Rise, Masked Dragon (1400/1100)!" he commanded, placing a card sideways onto his disk.

From a burst of light, a large dragon with a slender neck and big wings appeared in a defensive curl. Most of it's body was covered in white scales, but the underbody was covered in red scales.

"That'll do for now...,"

"Not when you see what I got, Chazz," Jaden drew his card, "Just what I needed! I play Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in attack mode!" he smiled as his Heroine appeared in a burst of flame, "Actually, I should say _slayer_ mode, 'cause that's what she's gonna do to that Dragon!".

Burstinatrix shot a large fireball, which hit Masked Dragon deadon, sending it screeching all the way to the Graveyard.

"Awesome!" Syrus cried, "Jaden's just taken the lead!"

Chazz smirked at the Slifer's words, "Nuh-uh...he's taken the _bait_,"

"Uh..oh...," Jaden knew this was going to be either very interesting, or very bad.

"I activate my Masked Dragon's special ability!" Chazz declared, "When he's destroyed in battle, I can summon a Dragon-Type monster with 1500 or fewer attack points from my deck, and I have just the one! See for yourself...c'mon out, Armed Dragon LV3 (1200/900)!!"

At that command, a small dragon with orange and brown scaly armor, wings coming out of it's back, sharp little teeth, and a buzzsaw blade in it's chest appeared, with a small roar. Everyone in the North section cheered as it came to the field.

-----

"Uh...Level?" Syrus looked at his friends for an answer.

Alexis nodded, "Yeah, and LV3 is the lowest, and if Chazz plays this right, it'll get a lot bigger!"

"I can't help but wonder where Chazz could've gotten that monster," Bastion mused.

"Screw that, we gotta find out where we can get our own," Christina nudged Siho, who grinned.

Shephard squinted at the Armed Dragon, "Isn't that one of your schools top cards? Why would-," his eyes widened and turned to his friend, who was snickering, "Foster, you _didn't_!"

"I did what I had to do...I told you Shephard," he glanced at the other bald man, "I want that prize, and I _am_ going to get it!"

"Oh yeah? Not if I have anything to say about!" Shephard rose to his feet, hands cupped around his mouth, "Let's go, Jaden! Jaden it up! Jaden it up! Jaden it up!"

-----

Jaden wiped his nose as his headmaster attempted to cheer him on, "Yeah...sure...," he grinned, "Sweet card, by the way, Chazz. I can't wait to see what that Armed Dragon card can do!"

Chazz smirked, "Don't worry, you'll have a front row seat,"

"Cool, but until then," Jaden looked at his hand and inserted a card into his disk, "I'm throwing down a facedown and end my turn,"

"Great, now I can start ending you!" Chazz drew his next card, "You see Jaden, during my Standby Phase, Armed Dragon's effect activates. By sending one card to the Graveyard and sacrificing his LV3 form," he paused and placed the two cards into his slot, "I can summon Armed Dragon LV5 (2400/1700) right to the field!"

"Say _what_?!"

"Now then...let's go ahead and get to it shall we?!" Chazz watched as his small dragon disappeared into a beam of light, "Armed Dragon LV5, rise!" he cried as a much larger dragon with dark red and black scales, and similiar claws, fangs and buzzsaw blade appeared in it's place. While everything looked similiar, one of the major differences was that instead of one buzzsaw blade in it's body, there were three of them now, the jagged metal teeth poking outward.

-----

"Be careful Jaden!" Bastion yelled out, "By leveling up, Armed Dragon's power has substantially increased, and he was plenty powerful before!"

Christina stared at the monster, "..."

Siho noticed this and nudged her, "You ok?"

"Must...find...level monsters...,"

"Oh great...," Siho turned back to the duel, hand in his pocket, "Well, at least I don't have to share my candy with her,".

-----

"Wow Chazz," Jaden whistled, "That monster's pretty sweet. But then, so is my Trap card, Hero Ring! I'll use this and equip to Burstinatrix!".

A medium-sized, red shield materialized and latched onto Burstinatrix's arm.

"Now, monsters with 1900 or more attack points, can't attack!" Jaden explained, "Them's the breaks, Chazz,"

His rival laughed coldly, "You want breaks? I'll give you breaks, Jaden. Because even _with_ that Hero Ring shield out, Armed Dragon LV5 is gonna crush your creature!"

Jaden blinked, "_How_?"

"His special ability,_ that's_ how! You see, by discarding a monster to the Graveyard, I can destroy a monsters of yours if it's attack points or equal or lower than the monster's I tossed!"

"So...?"

"So, if Flying Kamakiri #1 (1400/900) goes to the Graveyard...,"

"That means Jaden's Burstinatrix will be in big trouble!" Syrus realized.

"She has less attack points that Kamakiri!" Chumley added.

Siho popped a few pieces of candy into his mouth, "Man, Chazz's deck is really starting to look kickass...maybe I should go to North Academy sometime...or at least take those cards,"

-----

"Sorry Burst," Jaden sighed to his Heroine, "My bad...,"

"Go, Armed Dragon LV5, Shrapnel Blast!"

Everyone watched as the spikes on Armed Dragon's back shot outward like a volley of missles and rained down upon Burstinatrix, blowing her away.

Chazz cackled, "And that's just his _ability_! Time for his direct attack: Inferno Roar!"

Armed Dragon let out a fierce roar that made the walls vibrate as spinning blades that glowed red shot out of it's body and slammed into Jaden, knocking him into the air. Jaden landed hard on the platform, wincing as he rolled to a stop.

**C: 4000  
J: 1600**

Chazz scoffed at Jaden's form, "So _that's_ Duel Academy's best, huh?"

"No!" Shephard cried out, "Get up, please!"

"I'm fine!" Crowler yelled back weakly as he slowly picked himself up from the floor, "Thank you for your concern though!"

Jaden flipped over onto his feet, "Nice shot!" he commented, grinning from ear to ear.

Chazz stared at him, "Huh?!".

"Although," Jaden rubbed the back of his head, "For the next TV broadcast, I think I'd rather have a stuntman!" he laughed.

"..whatever," Chazz inserted a card into his disk, "I'll place one card facedown and end my turn,"

-----

Slade smiled as he sat alongside Jagger, both of them watching their little brother.

"Finally, he's starting to play like a Princeton!"

"True," Jagger snickered, "I just hope he doesn't win_ too_ fast!"

"Huh?" Slade turned to him, confused.

Jagger smiled, turning to look at his brother, "The longer he thrashes this kid, the more we make in commercial revenues!"

"Oooh...,"

Both brothers turned back to the duel, laughing at their plan of personal gain.

------

"My go!" Jaden drew his next card, and smiled at what he drew, "You're in trouble now. I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) to the field in attack mode!" he paused as his blue caped Hero arrived to his aid, "Also, when Bubbleman is summoned, and he's the only monster on my field, like right now, I'm allowed to draw two more cards!"

He drew two more cards and nodded, "Now I'll use one of them: Polymerization! I'll use this to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian (1000/1000) and Sparkman (1600/1400) with Bubbleman to create the Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800)!!"

The three Heroes merged together and from them, the futuristic space-hero Tempest flew into the air, arm cannon at the ready.

-----

"Alright!" Siho clapped as the new Hero came to the field, "Not Flame Wingman, but it'll do!"

Syrus nodded, "He's got him on the run now!"

-----

"On the run? Thanks to flyboy there?" Chazz spat, looking at Tempest.

Jaden nodded, "You bet, and he brings a new definition to the term 'airpower'!" Jaden looked at his monster, "Tempest, attack with Glider Strike!"

Tempest fired a beam of blue energy that connected with Armed Dragon's head, causing it to blow up into a pillar of smoke.

**C: 3600  
J: 1600**

Chazz lowered his arm after the blast, "Thanks for that! It lets me play my Trap!" he pushed a button on his disk and his facedown became face-up, showing a cemetary, "Call of the Haunted! Tell me, Jaden, do you believe in ghosts? If you don't, then you're about to, because this Trap card allows me to summon any monster from my Graveyard, and I bet you know which one I'm gonna pick!"

He smirked, "Armed Dragon LV5, rise once more!"

From the floor, pieces of rubble flew upward as the large Dragon monster came back to it's masters side, letting out another roar.

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!" his fans screamed from behind, "SHOW NO MERCY!"

Jaden felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek, "Well, I guess all I can do is throwdown a facedown and hope for the best,"

_Go ahead, Slacker_ Chazz thought, smirk still on his face, _'Cause with what I have planned for you, not even your best will help you!_

"Get ready for me to mop this low-rent Duel Academy floor with you, Jaden!" Chazz taunted as he drew his next card, "Because now, I'm using Armed Dragon's special ability. I'll discard Despair from the Dark (2800/3000) to the Graveyard and since it had 2800 attack points, your birdman's headed straight for the pet cemetary!" he pointed to the Hero, "Now, Armed Dragon, destroy Hero Tempest with Shrapnel Blast!"

Once again, the spikes from Armed Dragon's back shot out of it's hide and flew towards Tempest.

"Not so fast! I play the Spell card De-Fusion!" Jaden shouted, "Quick, Tempest, de-fuse!"

At the last second before the missles blasted the platform, Avian, Bubbleman and Sparkman seperated and dodged them all.

Chazz shook his head, "Doesn't matter, my Armed Dragon still has his attack to use. Armed Dragon, Inferno Roar!"

For the second time, the arena's walls vibrated as three seperate glowing red blades flew through the air and hit Sparkman, cutting the Hero into pieces effortlessly. Jaden groaned as his electrical Hero was slain.

"Now, to take this duel to the _next_ level!" Chazz's smirk became bigger and bigger, "To the highest level!"

"WHAT?!"

"I upgrade my Armed Dragon from level 5 to level 7! Won't you join me in welcoming the ultimate and the all powerful..," Chazz threw his arms into the air dramatically, "The almighty Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000)!!!"

This newest Dragon was like the previous two, but again, nothing like either of them. It still had the basic similarities in scale color, buzzsaw blades sticking out of it's chest, this time only sharper and longer, and incredibly sharp looking fangs. One of the few differences was that this monster was so large, it now stood behind the platform that Chazz was standing. Another was that it's wings were now completely made of metal, and it had a longer neck.

Jaden looked up at the monster as Chazz's fans chanted their favorite's name over and over.

"Ok...so he's big. But who knows?" he shrugged a little, "He _could_ be friendly...,"

-----

Jagger frowned at the sight of the newest Dragon, "That's strange...that monster wasn't in the suitcase I gave Chazz,"

"What?!" Slade looked at him, "Are you sure?!"

"Positive!" Jagger nodded, "Those aren't our cards,"

Shephard glared at Foster, who was chuckling at the progress of the duel. The Duel Academy Chancellor got to his feet again, "C'mon, Jaden! We're all with you! Jaden it up! Jaden it up! Jaden it up!"

Chazz looked back to his crowd of fans, "Show him how it's done, boys!"

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!"

The praise from his fans made Chazz laugh. He loved this so much, being the one with respect for once. He turned back to Jaden, smirking, "Aw, what's wrong?" he taunted to the silent Jaden, "You're not so talkative anymore, are ya? You don't have anything to say, Jaden?"

The Slifer looked at him, his Armed Dragon, then back at him, smiling, "Yeah, I do! I gotta get me one of those, he's so cool! Trade for him?"

"_No_, I won't trade for him!" Chazz snapped, eye twitching, "What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be scared of him, not _admiring_ him!"

Jaden shrugged, "How can I be scared of him? He's an incredible monster and this has been an incredible duel!" he hopped around, "This is so awesome, how can anyone not be any excited?! I'm _stoked_! This is what dueling's all about, thanks, Chazz!"

"Thanks? You're pitiful Jaden," Chazz shook his head, "Jumping around like a fool, never taking anything serious. _That's_ why you'll never be a champion! You see, it takes discipline to win! You have to have a sense of duty, and a plan! _I_ have a sense of duty, _I _have a plan, and that's why I'm going to beat you, Jaden! That's why I'll beat anyone in my way! I can conquer anyone, you hear that?! I CAN CONQUER THE WHOLE WORLD!" he screamed.

Jaden stared at him, a little nervous, "Okay...well, if you don't mind," Jaden drew his next card,"Can I take my turn first?"

"Go ahead, but make it quick!"

"Fine, chill...I'll call out Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in defense mode!"

He inserted a card into a slot as his cyborg dog came between Bubbleman and Avian, "I'll throwdown this facedown and end my turn. Quick enough for ya?"

"Not bad, but it's downright sluggish compared to how fast my Dragon's gonna take out all your monsters!" Chazz drew his card, "Watch this! I'll use my Dragon's ability and discard a monster card from my hand, I can destroy all monsters on the field with the same or few attack points than the monster I tossed,"

"That's...not...good," Jaden muttered.

-----

"Oh no!" Alexis gasped, "That'll leave Jaden wide open!"

"Dear me!" Crowler stared at the Dragon,"

Zane nodded slowly, "That is one _impressive_ ability...,"

Siho waved a hand in front of Christina's face, his own eyes never leaving the duel, "Uh...Chrissy, I hope you're with us, because if you ain't your missing something big here!"

"...I can't look," Kairi hid her face into Kristerr's shoulder. The Obelisk didn't even seem to notice, though.

Jordan followed suit and closed his eyes, "Duuude,"

-----

"I discard my Armed Dragon LV3 to the Graveyard, so all your monsters with 1200 or less attack points, will be completely wiped out!" Chazz threw his less powerful Dragon into the Graveyard slot, then looked at his beast, "Go! Serrated Sonic Disk!"

Armed Dragon LV7 roared and sent three spinning disks, glowing with blue energy. The three disks seperated from each other and sliced through their respective targets of the three E-Heroes, clearing the field and wiping away Jaden's defense.

-----

"Jaden!" Syrus cried, "No!"

"Oh my!" Crowler squeaked, ducking from the aftershock of the blast.

Siho shot out of his seat, boot planted on the railing, waving his blazer around, "C'mon, kid! You can do it! Eye of the Tiger, Jaden, Eye of the Tiger!"

"...you mean Eye of the Dragon?"

The Slifer looked down to see Christina was shifting in her seat.

"Oh, _now _you're with us!"

"Always been, just been loving this duel too damn much!"

"..."

"..."

"EYE OF THE DRAGON, JADEN, EYE OF THE DRAGON!" the two of them screamed at the top of their lungs, turning back to the duel ahead of them.

------

Jaden lifted his head as the smoke cleared, "Well, before Wroughtweiler goes belly up, his special ability activates. I can now take Polymerization and one Elemental Hero from my Graveyard and add them to my hand," he reached down and picked up the mentioned cards from the Graveyard slot.

"As if it really matters, you Duel Academy stooge!" Chazz shrieked, "This duel is over! It's time for you to go bye-bye! Armed Dragon LV7, attack Jaden directly with Dragon Talon Terror!"

Everyone watched as the dragon roared, rearing it's giant claw into the sky, ready to bring the pain down upon Jaden.

**To Be Continued...**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Wow...this is NOT good, is it? Well, hopefully, our favorite Hero duelist can pull through! Check out the next chapter to see if he does!**


	38. Level Up! Part Two

**Level Up! Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_On the last chapter of Heroes, Chazz came back to Duel Academy as Jaden's opponent in the School Duel. To make things worse, Chazz's power hungry brothers came with camera crews to record the whole thing for TV. Deciding to use the deck of North Academy, rather than his brother's cards, Chazz managed to trap Jaden in a corner with a powerful monster with a interesting ability (and not a very pretty face either), the Armed Dragon, a LV monster that can grow more and more powerful if played right._**

**_Now, as the blow descends upon Jaden, ready to destroy him and this duel, what could possibly happen to save Jaden from defeat?_**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**C: 3600**  
**J: 1600**

Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000)

"Armed Dragon, destroy Jaden with Dragon Talon Terror!" Chazz screamed, pointing to his opponent.

The Dragon roared and raised it's claw, the sharpened metal talons on it glinting in the arena's lights, then brought down it's mighty claw, ready to wipe away Jaden's points.

"Not so fast Chazz!" Jaden pressed a button, "I play a Trap! Hero Spirit!"

Just before the talons connected with him, Avian reappeared between Jaden and the talons, then took the attack himself, saving his master.

"What the?!" Chazz reared his head back at the sudden save, "When did you-? How did you-?! Why didn't my attack go through!?"

Jaden lifted his head as the platform was cleared of the smoke created by the destruction of his Hero, "Didn't you know, Chazz? When a Hero is destroyed and Hero Spirit is on the field, all the damage from your attack goes right down to zero, zip, zilch, nada!"

**(Author's Note: Zero to Hero, in no time flat, Zero to Hero, just like that. Oh wait, oops, wrong thing here! My bad, on with the story)**

"Congratulations, you could use a thesaurus," Chazz muttered before smiling, "It'll take more than that to beat my Armed Dragon. A _lot_ more than any pathetic monster you have!" he laughed, "Face it Jaden, you're toast!"

"...man, I gotta get _something_ started!" Jaden murmured as he drew his next card. A light cooing made him smile, he knew what he had drawn before even looking at the card itself, "Hey Kuriboh, maybe you can help me get outta this jam," he whispered.

"I summon Winged Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode!" Jaden declared as his winged furball appeared on the field, claws crossed protectively over it's fur, "and that'll do for now,"

"Why'd you play _him_?" Chazz sneered, looking at the ball of fuzz, "You planning to dust or something?"

At that comment, Winged Kuriboh bounced around, squeaking something that sounded like he was angry by what Chazz said.

"Aw, did I hurt his wittle feelings?" Chazz taunted, enjoying the little monster do his angry dance.

"It's ok if you did, Boss," Ojama Yellow said as he appeared next to his 'partners' ear, "Those furballs give me the creeps. I mean, lookit all that hair! Where does these monsters come from?!"

Chazz glared at the half-naked yellow spirit, "Get lost! If I want your opinion, I'll _give_ it to you!" he snapped, "Got it?!"

"Got it, Boss," Ojama Yellow floated behind his shoulder, "Sorry...,"

Kuriboh, even in it's solid hologram form, hopped onto Jaden's shoulders, letting out hoots and pointed to Chazz as it did so.

Jaden looked at him, "What're you squeaking? Chazz has a Duel Spirit?".

Kuriboh nodded and hooted again.

Turning away from his partner, Jaden looked back at Chazz and his eyes widened, "I see him! Hey Chazz!" he grinned, "Who's your friend?"

Chazz growled and danced around in his spot, waving his arms frantically at the Ojama, "He's no one, it's nothing! Nothing but your imagination, he's not real! Nothing to see here, no Duel Spirits at all!" he slapped Ojama's see through body into his hand, making the annoying gremlin disappear.

"Back to business," Chazz huffed, turning back to Jaden, "My turn now!" he drew his card and grinned, "And it's also your Kuriboh's turn to get blasted!".

Winged Kuriboh glared at him, squeaking things that probably wasn't very nice.

"Armed Dragon LV7, attack Kuriboh with Dragon Talon Terror!" Chazz ordered, pointing to the furball.

The huge spike covered Dragon roared, raised it's claws, and brought them down onto Jaden's side again, tearing through the adorable furball, blasting him to pieces.

"I think I'll leave it at that,"

-----

Syrus blinked, confused at the move, "Wait, why didn't he use Armed Dragons special ability?"

"Because Kuriboh's would cancel it out," Bastion explained, turning away from the duel, "The turn in which he's destroyed, Jaden doesn't recieve any damage,"

"Man, Jaden gets all the cool cards...," Christina whined.

-----

"My go now," Jaden drew his next card, "and I activate the Spell card, Pot of Greed!" Jaden drew two more cards thanks to the effect. He looked at the two cards and nodded, "Sweet, just the card I need to turn this duel around and around!"

"Say..._what_?" Chazz raised an eyebrow.

Jaden grinned as he slipped a card into his Graveyard, than slipped another card into a spare slot, "Go, Special Hurricane!"

"What the?!" Chazz took a step back.

"That's right!" Jaden's grin grew bigger, "By discarding a card to the Graveyard, I can activate this Spell card and destroy any monster that was Special Summoned!"

A large, swirling vortex erupted from the Spell card Jaden played and collided with Chazz's Armed Dragon, completely obliterating him. All that was left was a large shockwave of smoke as the Spell resolved.

"No way...," Chazz glared at Jaden through the smoke, "It can't be!"

"Oh it _be_, alright," Jaden shot back, "Now, you be in some big time trouble, because your best monster is off the field, and you're all alone on it!"

-----

"Totally lishus. I would've done the same thing," Chumley said with a nod, "I mean, if I had those cards...and Jaden talked me through it, step by step...,"

"That's all?" Bastion questioned him, "You sure you wouldn't want him to hold your hand while he's at it?"

"Hey, I was just-,"

Chumley stopped in midsentence because Siho, Kairi and Christina started clap and stomp their feet on the floor. It wasn't random either, it seemed to be in rhythm. Two stomps, clap. Two stomps, clap. Two stomps, clap.

"Uh...what are they doing?" Jordan whispered to Chumley.

"I think they're about to do _We Will Rock you_...,"

Syrus didn't seem to mind the noise, he just looked back at the duel and waved his arms, "Way to play, Jaden! Now, follow through and take it to Chazz's Life Points!"

-----

"You got it, Sy!" Jaden smiled at his friend's comment.

"_Buddy, you're a boy make a big noise  
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man someday  
You got mud on yo' face  
__Ya big disgrace  
Kicking ya can all over the place..."_

Jaden facefaulted and looked over his shoulder to see three of his fellow Slifers singing at the top of their lungs, "Oh c'mon guys...,"

Chazz laughed, "Well at least that song is right about one thing Jaden. You _are_ a big disgrace!"

Sighing, Jaden turned back to his opponent, "If they wanna sing a song while I'm dueling, I should get them my own theme song...," he shook his head, "Ok, back to work. I summon the Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)!"

The Hero in a loincloth and tattoos appeared on the field, muscles bulging and the large sword strapped to his back.

"Now, Chazz, you're in for some..._heartbreak_!" Jaden stopped and thought about what he said, "Wait..that doesn't make any sense...," he sighed and shook his head, "Oh, just attack!"

Wildheart let out a brave battle-cry and pulled the sword from his back. He ran over to Chazz and sliced him hard across the chest, sending the former Duel Academy student flying to the other end of the platform.

**C: 2100  
J: 1600**

-----

"Ha!" Shephard turned to Foster, grinning from ear to ear, "That prize is _so _mine! After all, looks like your boy is down for the count!".

Foster growled and turned back to the duel, "Oh, no he's _not_!" he shot out of his seat, "CHAZZ, GET UP!" he screamed.

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!"

Slade's eye twitched as Chazz's cheering section started up again.

"Jagger, what does Chazz think he's doing?! We've given Chazz the best dueling cards in the world, but he's not using them!"

-----

"It's...my...turn...," Chazz panted as he slowly climbed to his feet from the blow, then drew his card, "I play...a Spell card. The Graveyard in the Fourth Dimension! This baby lets me take two monsters outta my Graveyard, and shuffle them right into my deck," he reached down at grabbed the two mentioned cards, "Sure, they have to be a certain kind of monster, but it's just the kind I need,"

_That means..._ Jaden thought as Chazz held up the cards.

"My Armed Dragons!" Chazz smirked, "Also, it just so happens I happen to have another one in my hand as well!" he placed one of the cards onto his disk, "I summon the Armed Dragon LV3!"

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!"

Chazz smirked wider as his small Dragon came back in defense mode, "Yeah...," he nodded, hearing his fans, "Now, Jaden's about to be all _washed_ up!" he laughed as he placed one card facedown behind the Armed Dragon.

Armed Dragon DEF (1200/900)

"BOO! YOU SUCK AT JOKES, CHAZZ!"

Chazz didn't even seem to hear the outburst from one of Jaden's slacker friends. His mind was set on winning this duel.

_I have to win this. I can't let my brothers down! _he thought as images of his brothers filled his head.

_"World Domination is in our grasp!"_

_"You have to be Duel Monsters **best**!"_

Chazz turned to the audience to see both Slade and Jagger sitting a few yards away, looking at him intently.

"I'm trying!" he yelled.

"Uh...trying _what_?" Jaden asked, confused by the sudden change in behavior in his opponent, "Trying to weird me out? Earth to Chazz...," he followed Chazz's line of sight to see the two men in dark suits, "...Chazz's brothers...,"

-Flashback-

_Chazz raised his arms and pounded on the mirror, "Man up, Chazz! Show them that Chazz Princeton is no slacker, that you're worthy of the Princeton name!" he sank to his knees, "Show them that you can win...and that you can keep...winning...,"._

_Tears leaked from his eyes, "Show them that your supreme...show them that you can still win...," he punched the floor, "Go and win, go and win!"_

-End Flashback-

_So that must be why he was flipping out earlier..._ Jaden looked at the two suited men, _His brothers are putting a ton of pressure on him. Poor guy, he's gotta realize the only thing dueling is about is having fun._

"Jaden!"

Syrus' voice penetrated Jaden's thoughts, making the Slifer lift his head up.

"You gotta turn this duel around, Jay! You gotta show everyone what's up!"

"That's it it!" Jaden nodded, understanding what he had to do, "I gotta win this duel. I gotta show Chazz what duelings really about! Alright Jaden...," he took a deep breath, "It's time to get your game on," he looked up at Chazz, a fierce look in his eyes, "LET'S DUEL!"

"What are you talking about, Slacker, we _are_ dueling!!" Chazz yelled at him, "Remember?!"

Jaden sighed and drew his card, "Alright...Wildheart, attack that Armed Dragon with Wild Slash!"

Wildheart roared again as he jumped into the air, then quickly descended down onto the Armed Dragon with his huge blade, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter. The Dragon exploded after showing everyone the huge cut in it's body, leaving Chazz's field wide open.

"Thanks for that," Chazz waved the smoke away and pressed a button on his disk, "I play my facedown card, the Trap known as the Grave of Enkindling! Since a monster was destroyed in battle, we both can go through our Graveyards and summon a monster to the field in defense mode," he looked at his Graveyard slot, "I think I'm gonna use another Armed Dragon...and this one is LV5!"

-----

Syrus groaned as the higher LV of Armed Dragon returned, "Grave of Enkindling made that _way_ too easy! Isn't there a drawback to using it?"

"If I recall correctly," Bastion rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "The rules state that the resurrected monster _must_ stay in defense mode. But that's a mood point, after all, with LV5's special ability of discarding a monster from his hand and destroying a monster with equal or fewer attack points that, Chazz could gain the upper-hand again,"

Christina looked at Siho.

Siho looked at Christina.

"Betcha twenty bucks that Jaden wins this,"

"Aw, dammit, I was gonna take that one. Fine, Chrissy, you're on!"

"Nya nya...,"

-----

Armed Dragon DEF (2400/1700)

Chazz glared at Jaden, waiting for the Trap to take effect with him as well, "What are you waiting for? Resurrect, take a monster out of your Graveyard! But, I should warn you, it'll be a round trip!"

"Uh, monster? I think you mean _monsters_!"

"Please!" Chazz scoffed, "What are you talking about? That Grave of Enkindling only lets you bring out _one_ monster!"

Jaden only smiled as he took a card from the slot, "I bring back Hero Kid (300/600) from the Graveyard!"

Chazz watched, stunned as a little boy in a space suit, wearing a red mask and high-tech looking gear flipped onto the field, "What the?! _He_ wasn't in your Graveyard, Jaden!"

"Think again...remember when I played Special Hurricane?"

-Flashback-

_"That's right!" Jaden's grin grew bigger, "By discarding a card to the Graveyard, I can activate this Spell card and destroy any monster that was Special Summoned!"_

-End Flashback-

"Oh yeah...," Chazz scowled at the memory.

"Like I said, Chazz, it's not just him," he looked at his new Hero, "If he happened to be Special Summoned, just like he was right now, I get to call out every other Hero Kid I have in my deck!"

As soon as he said those words, two other boys, identical to the first one, leapt out of the deck slot and landed alongside their brother, crouching.

Hero Kid #1 DEF (300/600)  
Hero Kid #2 DEF (300/600)  
Hero Kid #3 DEF (300/600)  
E-Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)

"Now, I''ll throwdown a facedown and end my turn," Jaden finished, sliding a card into a slot under one of the Heroes.

Chazz chuckled, "I see what you're doing, Jaden. You think because you summoned three monsters, I'll have to discard three cards to destroy them, right?" he held up his hand, "You wish. I don't have to discard _three_ cards, because I only have to play _one_!"

-----

"I don't like the sound of that...," Syrus whimpered.

"Play one card?!" Shephard leaned forward, "What could it be?!"

-----

"Alright, here I go," Chazz drew his card and grinned, "I play the Spell card Level Up!"

Jaden gulped as the Spell card appeared, "Uh oh...,"

"What does Level Up do?"

Chazz grinned as Shephard as the question, "Wow, I guess it's true what they say: 'Those who can't duel, teach'! What this card does is let me level up a monster and I choose...," he pointed to his own, "My Armed Dragon LV5! With this Spell card, I'll upgrade him from LV5 to LV7!" he laughed.

And once again, the LV5 Armed Dragon disappeared and it's towering counterpart filled it's space, letting out a low, deep growl as it looked down at the opposing side of the field.

Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000)

-----

"Yes!" Slade smiled as his little brother made a comeback.

"Yes!" Foster pumped a fist in the air as the huge monster returned.

"No!" Zane leaned forward, shocked, "With that monster out, his ability can destroy all of Jaden's monsters again!"

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ...IT...UUUUUUUP!"

Christina leapt out of her seat, shaking her fist at the cheering section of North Academy students, "SHUT THE HELL UP, LOSERS! WE GET IT, WE GET IT! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!!!!!"

She sat back down and saw that her friends around her seemed to back away from her, or at least did the best they could while still in their seats.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

-----

"I've got something I've been wanting to tell you for a _long_ time, Jaden, so listen up!" Chazz curled his fist, smirking, "I got _my_ game on and I'm about to turn _your's_ off!"

The huge Dragon reared it's ugly face, roaring and flexing it's shiny claws in the arena's light. The camera crews circled the platform, the film still going.

"That's it, keep it baby! Remember, the camera loves ya!"

Chazz glanced at the director, "Then keep it rolling, because you haven't seen _anything _yet!" he inserted a card into his disk, "I play the Equip card, Armed Changer! Now, by simply discarding another Equip Spell card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can activate this baby and equip it to my Dragon!"

The right claw of the Armed Dragon glowed and instead of it's normal claws, three huge drills on a glove-like attachment appeared.

"Now, Armed Dragon, attack with Dragon Driller!" Chazz ordered.

His Armed Dragon began to spin it's drill-equipped arm so fast, it became a deep-red blur. The spinning claw connected with Wildheart, slashing him up and down before sending him to the Graveyard, doing big damage to Jaden's points.

**C: 2100  
J: 300**

"Now, it's time for Armed Changer's effect to activate! See, when a monster is destroyed by a monster equipped with this card, I get to bring back a monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, as long as it doesn't have more attack points than the monster it destroyed," Chazz explained as a card popped out of his Graveyard slot. He reached down and plucked it out of the slot, "I think I'll choose my Masked Dragon, but he won't be here for long, because I'll send him back to the Graveyard to use my Armed Dragon's special ability!"

-----

"Oh boy...," Syrus bit his lip fearfully.

"This should be _good_!" Slade chuckled darkly.

Zane shook his head, "With Masked Dragon in the Graveyard, Armed Dragon's effect will crush any monster on the field with less attack points!"

-----

"Now, Armed Dragon, trounce those triplets!" Chazz pointed to the three Hero Kids, "With Serrated Sonic Disks!"

Armed Dragon roared as three huge, spinning blades of glowing energy shot out of it's body and flew to the three Hero Kids. With ease, the three sonic disks cut through the three Hero Kids, destroying them effortlessly.

Chazz laughed at his own move, "Looks like your Hero Kids just got grounded! Grounded up that is!" he laughed harder, "I'll tell you what, Jaden, if you surrender now, I promise I won't embarass you on global TV!" he pointed to the camera crews, "Oh wait, I already did!"

-----

Syrus frowned as Chazz continued to laugh, "It's not _that_ funny...,"

"You forget, Syrus, Chazz has had a vendetta against Jaden ever since they first dueled," Siho reminded him, "Believe me, if I were Chazz, I'd be enjoying every minute of this,"

-----

Shephard waved his arms frantically, "Come on, Jaden, don't give up!"

"Who's giving up?" Jaden smiled, "I'm having way too much fun to give up! After all...," he turned to Chazz and looked him straight in the eyes, "_that's_ what dueling's all about! Win or lose, because you'll be having fun all the time!"

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Christina screamed at the top of her lungs before getting hit upside the head by a few of her friends.

Chazz scoffed, "Oh gag me!"

"It's true!" Jaden grinned goofily, "If _I_ can have fun losing, shouldn't _you _have fun winning? It's not that hard...despite whatever your brothers may have told you,"

"What the hell do you know about my brothers, slacker?!" Chazz snapped at him.

"For starters, Chazz, I know they're the ones your dueling for...," Jaden glanced at the two other Princetons in the audience, "And I know how much pressure they've put on you to win this duel,".

Chazz only growled, but that was loud enough for Jaden to hear him.

"C'mon, Chazz," Jaden looked back at him, "Remember when you used to duel for fun? The excitement of it?"

"...I only duel to win, slacker...,"

"Well, let's see where that gets ya," Jaden drew his next card, looked at it, and inserted it into his disk, "I play the Spell known as The Warrior Returning Alive! With this card, I can now bring a Warrior from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. So, I think I'll choose my favorite feathered friend, Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000)!"

He then held out two more cards, "Now, with the help of Polymerization and Burstinatrix (1200/800), I can now create and summon the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!!"

Chazz watched as the very familiar monster from his past duels descended from the sky, "So what? He doesn't stand up against my Armed Dragon! After all, the Armed Dragon LV7 has 2800 attack points, you're way outmatched!"

"You're wrong, Chazz," Jaden smiled, "Cause I'm inviting my three Hero Kids to come back out and play with us!"

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the arena after Jaden made the announcement of his plans.

"To...play?" Chazz raised an eyebrow,"

"Yeah, with _your_ monsters points!" Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I activate my facedown Trap card, Miracle Kids! Here's how it works, for every Hero Kid I have in the Graveyard, your Armed Dragon loses 400 attack points! And since I have three, your Dragon loses 1200 attack points!"

Three bursts of light shot out of Jaden's Graveyard and merged with the Armed Dragon. As soon as the last one disappeared, Armed Dragon seemed to shrink a little as it's points were drained.

Armed Dragon LV7 (1600/1000)

"_Now_ who's outmatched? Actually don't answer that, I'll have Flame Wingman answer for ya!"

"Chazz is gonna lose!" the camera director cried, seeing a torrent of flame erupt from Flame Wingman's dragonhead and engulf the Armed Dragon, "Cut the camera feed, cut the transmission!"

-----

Everywhere TV's were showing the duel, and millions of people watched in excitement. That is, until the duel was stopped and instead, a woman with short hair appeared on screen, a nervous look on her face.

"Uh...hello, we interrupt this duel to bring you all a special new bulletin to tell you all that...everything is fine,"

Everyone that was watching either cursed, moaned, or threw stuff in anger that such a good duel was cut off before it was ended.

-----

Chazz screamed as his Armed Dragon was burnt to a crisp by the Flame Wingman, leaving nothing but ash in it's wake.

**C: 1600  
J: 300**

Syrus smiled widely, "Alright! The Flame Wingman took out the Armed Dragon in one hit!"

"That's not all," Bastion told him, "There's still his superpower,"

Alexis smiled, "And it's one that's gonna _burn_ Chazz. It can deal damage to a duelist's Life Points equal to their destroyed monster's attack points! In this case, it's 1600!"

"YES! YES! YES!"

"AWESOME!"

"ROCK ON, JADEN!"

Kairi, Siho, and Christina stood up, each one holding up the V sign, "GO, SLIFER! GO, JADEN! GO, DUEL ACADEMY! V FOR VICTORY SUCKA!" they cried in unison.

"NOOOO!" Chazz fell to his knees as the duel drew to a stop.

**C: 0  
J: 300**

"And that's game!" Jaden did his two fingered salute as his duel disk turned off, his fans cheering wildly behind him.

Chazz was about to look up when he noticed two pairs of shiny black shoes enter his sight. He looked away slightly, knowing who it was that joined him.

"You loser! You dog! You've disgraced yourself, and you've disgraced the Princeton family!"

"You are no brother of ours anymore,"

Chazz looked at them, "Please...," he panted, "Give me another chance,"

"_Another_ chance?!" Jagged repeated, "You know how much we've spent on this duel?"

The cameras, the rare cards, none of which you used I might add!" Slade barked.

"I'm sorry...," Chazz kept his head low, "I thought I could win this duel by myself,"

Jagger growled, reached down, grabbed his ex-brother's coat collar and lifted him clear off the ground, "_Yourself_?!"

"When could you do _anything_ by yourself?!" Slade screamed.

"Let him go!"

Slade and Jagger turned to see Jaden glaring at them, every single one of his friends standing behind him.

"Sure, he may have lost the duel, but how could he not with you two jerks breathing down his neck the entire time?" Jaden spat.

Jagger glared at him, "Two jerks?! Do you know who we are, we could have you _crushed_, Kid!" he growled.

Pulling himself from Kairi, Kristerr walked up to Jaden's side, looking at the two Princetons, "I know who you two are. You two are a couple of psychotic control freaks who would do anything to get what they want. They say that being rich and privileged makes you pains in the ass, and I guess you two are living proof of some cases,"

"Why you...," Slade curled his hand into a fist, "Watch your tongue!" he turned back to the younger one, "Why would you guys defend Chazz anyhow? He's a nobody now! Disowned by _us_ and the whole world!"

He waved to the crews circling the area, "The camera's got everything on tape! He was schooled. He got mopped up!"

"He got _owned_," Christina grinned, putting her arms behind her head.

Jagger pulled Chazz closer to him, "Damn right he did! That was embarassing for all of us, Chazz! You lost the damn duel, you weakling!"

"Wrong...," Jaden lifted his head, a hard look in his eyes, "He won a fight today...the fight against you two! He played by _his_ conditions, played with _his_ cards! That's what matters!"

Slade glared at him while Jagger released Chazz.

Jaden turned to his opponent, who was coughing, "Tight duel, Chazz, and I think that despite it being cheesy sounding, we _both_ won here today,"

"You're just saying that," Chazz muttered, rising to his feet, "I mean, c'mon...no one else believes that,"

"We do, Chazz!"

"Yeah! All the way!"

The arena was soon filled with the chant of 'Chazz It Up', but it wasn't made by just the North Academy students alone. Every other student of Duel Academy chanted along with them, moved by Jaden's words.

Jagger and Slade looked all around them, taking in the screaming.

Slade growled and turned to his brother, "C'mon, we don't have time for this worthless crap...," he turned and headed towards the arena's exit, Jagger following close behind him as the students in the arena continued to chant.

-----

Later that evening, as the sun began to set, Chazz stood on a small cliff, watching his brother's helicopters fly off into the distance. He was longer a Princeton in his brother's eyes. He was just a duelist without a family.

_Only one last matter I have to settle_ he thought as he headed back towards the docks where his North Academy friends and his former classmates of Duel Academy were waiting for him.

Jaden smiled as Chazz joined them, "Guess this is goodbye, huh, Chazz? Don't forget to write," he nudged him on the shoulder.

Chazz looked at his feet, "I'm _not_ going back, Jaden,"

A collection of horrified gasps made Chazz look over his shoulder to his North Academy comrades, "Look guys. I'm sorry, but I don't belong with you,"

Czar blinked, "But...then where do you belong?"

Chazz turned all the way around, facing him and the others, "Right here. Duel Academy was _always_ my home,"

"But...you're our best duelist, Chazz!" Czar reminded him, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he looked over his shoulder to the headmaster, "If Chancellor Shephard will have me back, that is,"

Shephard smiled warmly, "Well, you _were _one of our best duelists...how could I possibly refuse?"

Foster nodded and looked at his former Champion, "I guess it's time we got going, then. Good luck, Chazz,"

"May I have your attention please?"

Everyone turned to Crowler, who was ontop of a makeshift stage, holding a microphone.

"Now, to present the prize of this years match between North Academy and our esteemed university...Miss Duel Academy!"

At those words, almost every male student rushed the stage.

"Miss Duel Academy? Sounds hot!" Jaden grinned.

Syrus edged between Jaden and Siho, who was practically drooling, "Jay, be my wingman ok?"

Everyone's anticipation turned to disappointment and slight horror as Dorothy from the card store rose from the stage, wearing a dress and make up.

"_Dorothy's_ Miss Duel Academy?!" Jaden gaped.

Siho clutched his face, "OH GOD MY EYES! MY EYES! THEY BURN! SOMEONE GOUGE OUT MY EYES, THEN GOUGE OUT MY SHORT-TERM MEMORY!_"_ he screamed.

To make things more disappointing, it turns out the big prize Foster and Shephard kept raving about was a simple kiss from the plump woman. Foster began to sob and dashed to his submarine as Dorothy kissed Shephard on the cheek.

Chazz raised an eyebrow, "That's a chick?"

After a rather tearful goodbye and chants of "Chazz It Up" from North Academy studenst as their submarine drifted away, Shephard looked at the returning student.

"Chazz, about you coming back, there's something that we have to talk about,"

"Oh? What's that?"

"Banner?"

Professor Banner weaved his way to Chazz through the other students, "Since you dropped out of Duel Academy and are returning, you are technically a new student. For that, you must start from the bottom at Slifer Red,"

Chazz looked both shocked and horrified, "What?! _Slifer_?!"

Banner nodded, "Yes, welcome! We'll get you fitted for a blazer when we return to th dorm, then we'll see if we can find you a roommate,"

"How about Siho?" Christina suggested, smiling slyly, "He doesn't have a roommate of his own yet,"

Siho glared at her and leaned in, "Shut...up...," he hissed.

Chazz had similar thoughts, "The Chazz bunks alone! Got that?!"

"Really? Then how do you feel about cockroaches?" Syrus asked him.

"Cockroaches?!"

Jaden grinned, "There's only a few of them. Besides, it's mainly the rats ya gotta worry about,"

"Rats?!" Chazz turned back to the sea, "I changed my mind! Take me back! I wanna come back!"

Laughing, Jaden turned to the others, "Guys, how about we give Chazz the Slifer Cheer?"

"I don't want it!" Chazz snapped, turning and glaring at them all.

"S-L-I-F-E-,"

"Can't we just stick with 'Chazz It Up'?!" Chazz begged.

"SLIFER IT UP!" everyone yelled before closing in on Chazz for a huge group hug. Chazz groaned and sank to the ground, tugging at his hair, "My new family's already dysfunctional!"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: YAY! School Duel ish over! Ya'll know what's coming VERY soon! WOOT WOOT! I'm excited for this upcoming arc, because I got a few things planned out! It all starts with the next chapter guys. Peace out, and thanks for reading so far!**


	39. Raiders of the Lost Duel Part One

**Raiders of the Lost Duel Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: Time for a somewhat new arc beginning! Mwahahaha...also, guess where I got the chapter title idea from.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Ugh...that's the last time I mix chili sauce with ice cream...,"

Syrus climbed down the ladder of his bunk bed late one night, his stomach practically tearing itself apart from the inside. He walked out of his dorm room and headed down the stairs, looking for the bathroom.

"Truesdale, what are you doing up?"

Syrus jumped slightly, but looked up to see Siho leaning over the second floor railing. He must've missed seeing him on the way down.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Why are _you_ up?" Syrus yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Siho jumped over the railing and landed on his feet with ease, "Couldn't sleep,"

"Stomach trouble?"

"More like dream trouble,"

"Ah," Syrus nodded, "Nightmares. It's ok, man, I totally get it. When I was younger, I used to have nightmares alot and then go ask Zane if I could bunk with him,"

Siho looked at him, "Well there's something I didn't wanna know personally,"

Syrus rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I gotta get to the bathroom before I mess myself," he mumbled, walking towards a door. He turned the doorknob and pulled it open. The room had a bed, a large desk and glowing light from inside.

Blinking, Syrus rubbed his head, "Oh man, this isn't the bathroom,". He was about to close the door when he heard a strange sound coming from the desk. He rubbed his eyes some more and saw that Banner was sitting in front of a computer monitor, his back to the open door.

**"You are not here to ask _why_, you are here to _obey_,"**

Banner shifted in his seat, "But Jaden is one of our best students, he could be buried alive!" he protested to the strange voice.

Syrus stood there, "Buried?" he whispered.

**"If the tomb shall be the end of Jaden Yuki, then so be it. His true potential _must_ be tested!"**

Syrus quickly and quietly closed the door, then backed away, scared of what he just heard.

_Tested? In a tomb? Where he could be buried alive?! Something tells me this test isn't mid-terms..._ he thought before quietly running up the stairs to his bed, no longer needing to go to the bathroom.

-----

_Man, can this get anymore dull?_ Siho yawned as he sat in his seat, listening to Banner's lecture the next day. He had managed to get to sleep, but only with a little bit of help. Looking around, Siho noticed that some of his friends were either listening to the lecture, or trying their best to stay awake. Jaden was the exception to both of these options. He was snoozing away, large dots painted on his eyelids.

_How **that** old trick can fool anyone is beyond me..._ he thought with a sigh.

"So you see, children, we can learn a great duel from alchemy that applies to dueling," Banner went on, standing by his desk with two different vials with multi-colored liquid in his hands. Pharaoh lay comfortably in his master's chair.

Banner held up the vials, "Just as we can fuse two monsters to create a more powerful monster, we can mix two compounds and make something equally impressive," he poured one of the liquids into the large vial and shook it gently, "You see, it's rather very-AH!".

The vials exploded, sending a large cloud of smoke into the air. Banner waved his hand, coughing as he made the smoke go away from his face, which was now smudged from the smoke, "On the other hand...it can be equally devastating...," he coughed before falling on his rear end.

Siho held back his laughter as the ringing of the bell signaled the end of the class. The ringing also woke up Jaden from his snore fest.

The Slifer Hero user yawned and stretched, "Morning guys...what I miss?" he looked ahead at Banner, who was picking himself up, "Learn anything good today?"

"We learned how to duck," Syrus said quietly.

Christina giggled, "Also learned that not all explosions can kill a man,"

Banner brushed himself off as he rose to his feet, "Oh, I almost forgot! I'm...uh...planning a little field trip," he held up a pile of papers, most likely schedules.

"A field trip?" Christina's eyes went big, "Seriously?"

"Where to? Carnival? Circus?" Jaden asked, excited.

Banner smiled, "Even better! We are going to take a ten mile hike all the way to the excavative ruins, where we will be taking geologic core samples!"

_Ruins?_ Siho sat up straight smiling, _Finally, something good that comes out of this class!_

"It's this next Saturday at 7:00 AM, so don't be late!"

------

And so, Banner's class arrived in the meeting spot outside the Academy, ready for the field trip. However, it wasn't the results Banner had really wanted. While not many of the class came, all of the ones who came, including Banner, had a backpack with them, filled with food and supplies.

Siho, Christina, Jaden, Syrus, Jordan, Alexis and Chumley were the only ones who came.

Banner frowned, "Only seven of you? Is that all? Where is everyone else?"

Syrus yawned, "It's early in the morning, Professor...they're probably back in their dorms, in their nice, warm beds," he turned to Chumley, "Probably enjoying the company of their soft pillows,"

"Like _I'd_ be doing if Banner didn't threaten us with detention...," the larger boy muttered.

"Hey, don't complain, guys, this is gonna be good!"

Syrus turned to Siho and looked at Christina, "You know, there's something I've been meaning to ask you guys,"

"What's that, Truesdale?"

"Sup, Sy?"

"_Why_ are you dressed like that?"

Siho looked at himself. He wasn't wearing his dark shirt, pants or his Slifer blazer anymore. He was now wearing an untucked white button-up shirt, khaki pants, boots, a brown leather jacket and a wide-brimmed brown hat on top of his black hair.

Christina didn't wear her normal clothes either. She wore dirty jeans, sneakers, a loose-fitting baseball shirt, and a well worn baseball cap.

"Well," Siho grinned, "We've had these outfits for awhile, and we've never had a real good opportunity to wear them. Once we heard about this hike and the excavation site, we knew this would be a perfect time,"

Alexis raised an eyebrow, "How is it a perfect time?"

Christina pulled Alexis close to her as the others started off, "You ever see a series of American movies called _Indiana Jones_?"

-----

As they walked through the woods, Siho looked at the group, "So, anyone know about this place we're headed to?"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah. I heard that this site, is where people used to play the Shadow Games,"

_Again with the Shadow Games?_ Siho looked ahead, _For a school, this place has a lot of bad mojo surrounding it..._

He turned to Alexis, "So, you and Jordan are coming because you might find something about your brother, huh?"

"That's what we're hoping for...,"

Banner stopped the group and turned around, "Now, before we advance anymore, I must warn you children. When we enter the ruin site, you _must_ be careful. Inside the area, is an ancient tomb. Now, usually with tombs like this, there are numerous, hidden booby traps, and so, in case the excavation team haven't cleared them all out, we will have to be cautious so we don't trigger anything,"

"That's right. I don't think I can outrun a huge boulder," Christina said with a nod.

Banner only stared at her, confused.

"Sir," Siho raised his hand, "Besides the supposed hosting of the Shadow Games, what else do we know about this place?"

The long-haired teacher shrugged, "Well, I don't really know the whole set of details, but I have heard that some of the slabs found at the site, depict a story of a treasure that was feared greatly by the world of men,"

_Whoa, heavy..._ Siho pulled out a small notepad and wrote down whatever he heard from Banner about this site they were headed to.

-----

After many hours of walking, and many hours of Chumley whining and complaining about what he hated throughout the trip, the group of students and teacher entered a very large clearing filled with stone and holes.

"Finally, we're here!" Banner laughed triumphantly, secretly glad he didn't have to put up with Chumley complaining for awhile longer.

The others looked around them. Directly in front of them, was what looked like a broken archway that was mostly covered in green moss.

"Cool...," Jaden breathed, "They looked all ruined," he commented, looking around at the site.

Alexis smiled slightly, "That's because they're _ruins_,"

Banner set down his pack and looked around, "Marvelous!" he tried to hold back his excitement, "You can still see the fated remains of the oculus, oh and the phastigium! No doubt inspired by a meniment of Saka'Ra,"

**(Author's Note: Ok, I don't know WHAT the hell he's saying, so I just winged it in spelling)**

Siho walked to his side, "I gotta admit, I'm enjoying this, teach," he said, taking out a camera from his jacket pocket.

Banner looked at him, smiling, "So you like the study of ancient buildings and cultures, do you?"

"Oh hell yeah," Siho nodded checked the settings on his digital camera, "I grew up looking at all sorts of history books and stuff on this subject. If you ask me, this sorta thing is one of the best things to study about in school,"

Christina groaned as she sat down with Chumley and Syrus, "Man, my feet are killing me. I thought this was gonna be cool, but all I see is just a bunch of rocks and dirt,"

Syrus nodded, "Same here...at least _they're_," he nodded to Banner and Siho, "are happy about this sort of thing,"

"Well I'm just happy I get to sit down," Chumley groaned, rubbing his legs, "Hate hiking...,"

Jaden grinned at his friends and looked at his teacher, "Speaking of sitting down, how about we chowdown?"

Banner nodded, "I don't see why not. Afterwards, we can check out the rest of the ruins. Maybe there's some well preserved sarcophaguses around...or is it _sarcophagi_?" he dropped his bag and looked through it, "Oh well, time to eat for now. I love pizza, I can barely wait,"

Jaden and the others turned around on their lunch blanket, staring at their professor.

"Pizza?! You get pizza while we're stuck with whatever it is I'm holding?" Jaden whined, holding up some popcorn balls.

"Dude, that's messed up!" Christina groaned.

Jordan nodded, "So messed up,"

Banner inched himself away from them, holding his sack close, "I'm your teacher, I need pizza for strength so I can teach you properly!" he said defensively.

Jaden rolled his eyes and joined his friends once again.

"That's funny," Banner murmured, rummaging through his backpack, "I don't remember having a fur-topping on my pizza,"

Instead of pulling out his lunch, Banner pulled out a familiar fat cat out of his sack, crumbs around his whiskers. Pharaoh mewed and gave a small belch.

Banner facefaulted, "Pharaoh! You were supposed to stay at home, not hitch a ride in my bag and eat my lunch!" he cried. Banner hung his head in dismay, then slowly turned to his students, looking very humble, "Maybe...you could share you lunch with me, children?" he asked, hands together.

Everyone looked at him, mimicking his squinted look.

"Sorry," Jaden replied, "But we're your students and we need this to learn,"

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, besides _you_ weren't gonna share, Professor," Chumley pointed out.

Banner facefaulted again, "But of_ course_, I was going to share!"

"Share what?" Alexis asked, "Pepperoni breath all day?"

While Banner kept trying to score some free food, Pharaoh walked around the area. The fat cat looked around and noticed something sticking out of the dirt. He walked over and dug, shoveling dirt behind him as the object became more clear. It was a large, round disk with symbols carved into it. In the exact middle of the disk, a green gem lay. Pharaoh mewed and prodded the disk.

At the touch of the cat's paw, the green gem began to glow a bright light. Pharaoh shrieked and ran back to his master, while beams of bright green light shot into the sky from the earth.

**(Author's note: See? If curiousity doesn't kill the cat, the cat causes something bad to happen to other people due to it's curiousity)**

"What's going on?!" Jaden watched as more and more beams erupted from the dirt. Everyone else rose to their feet and stood back to back, while Pharaoh leapt into Banner's arms, shaking like a leaf.

"Guys! Look up!" Jordan pointed to the sky.

Everyone gazed upward to see the sun split into three seperate balls of fire and light.

"Is...anyone else seeing things in triplicate?" Banner asked nervously.

Chumley's jaw dropped as a veil of different colored lights appeared, moving around them in a circluar pattern, "Man...this is the most lishus field trip ever,"

"Duuuuuuuuuuuude," Christina nodded, "Awesome light show,"

A hooting made Jaden look away from the light to see Winged Kuriboh on his shoulder.

"What's that?" he asked, earning another hoot, "We should run?"

As if in response, thunder boomed above them and lightning flashed, making everyone jump out of their skins.

"Everyone, run for cover!"

"You don't hafta tell me twice, teach!" Christina yelped, turning around and running full speed ahead, the others close behind. The lightning and thunder came quicker and quicker each time, making them more frightened.

Banner looked ahead towards a tall building, "We'll find safety in that-," his last word was drowned out by more thunder.

**(Author's Note: Again, I say I don't know what the hell he says)**

"The _what_?!" Alexis and Jordan shouted.

Banner pointed to the thing ahead of them, "The building with the hole!" he yelled.

Siho looked over his shoulder and noticed Jaden had stopped running. Skidding to a stop, Siho turned back for his friend, "Dude, are you nuts, c'mon!" he urged, tugging at Jaden's sleeve.

Jaden looked at him then behind to see the others huddled into a hole, hoping the shelter will protect them from the hole.

"Guys, stay in there, Siho and I will lead the storm away!"

Siho nodded to his friends as Jaden took off, then snapped his head towards the fleeing Slifer, "Wait, we're gonna do _what_?!"

As Jaden ran off in the opposite direction, the light from above became brighter and brighter. Siho covered his eyes as the light shined, but it didn't help. He saw Jaden's form running ahead seconds before he blacked out.

-----

Siho opened his eyes to see the three suns high in the sky above him. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, "Dang, man...,"

He lowered his hands as a shadow loomed over him. Siho looked up to see a dark figure standing in front of him, a large robe fluttering in the gentle wind that blew around them. Squinting, Siho saw that the figure in front of him was a man with tan skin, a beard, and impressive robes of white and black, with white embroidery on them.

"Can I help you, pal?" the Slifer asked, rising to his feet.

The man stared hard at him as a few spearheads came into Siho's point of view, "Who are you people?' he demanded in a deep voice.

Siho calmly looked down at the spear heads, then looked to either side of him to see a couple of chunky men in black robes holding long, three-pronged spears.

"I asked you a question, boy!"

The Slifer looked around to see that he and the others were in a large square area surrounded by a huge wall on all sides, his friends either awake with more spears pointed at them, or asleep on the shoulders of other robed men.

"Boy!"

Siho turned back just in time to feel the butt of a spear whack him across the face. The Slifer fell to one knee, the taste of blood in his mouth. Slowly, he stood up and spit the blood out, the red liquid splattering on the floor in front of the older man.

"Ok, two things. One, you need to be patient and two," Siho walked up to the older man, rubbing his cheek, a grin on his face, "I don't like it when people do that,"

"Do what? Teach you to show respect and answer when you have been asked a question?"

Siho shook his head as blood dribbled down the side of his chin, "No. I don't like being-," he threw a quick right hook and slugged the old man hard in the face, sending him to the ground, "Sucker-punched, asshole!"

Almost immediately, a couple of men in robes tackled Siho to the ground, pinning him down while a few others pointed their weapons at him. Siho didn't even put up a fight as the tips of the spears pricked tiny holes in his flesh.

The old man climbed to his feet, holding his jaw and glaring at Siho, "Filthy urchin...how dare you strike me!"

"Hey, you started it, ya old fart!" Siho shot back, "Your goons were the one that hit me first!"

One of the men holding him down looked over his shoulder to the man, "Chief, what shall we do with these trespassers?" he glanced back at Siho, "I think _this_ one deserves to meet the end of a blade,"

The leader, 'Chief', looked at his subordinate, then Siho, then the others.

Siho squirmed abit, "Ok, seriously, could ya let me up? I don't wanna get involved in a freaky sausage fest orgy here, and," he tilted his head back to his friends, "I'm pretty sure they don't deserve to be handled like that. So how about, you just get offa me, before I kick each and everyone of your asses?"

"Why you arrogant little-,"

The Chief held up his hand, cutting one of his men off, "Let the boy up," he ordered.

Most of the cloaked men moved away as Siho was brought to his feet, arms held tight.

"Oh, you wanna another hit, c'mon pal, I'm ready for ya!" Siho jumped and kicked his feet outward, not even hitting the Chief. He tried a few more times before giving up. All he managed to do was kick nothing and swing in the air while being held up.

The Chief folded his arms, "You seem to have both bravery and foolishness, boy. I don't know why any of you are here, but you have violated the sacred ground of this holy place. For that, you and they will be punished,"

"Punished?" Siho grinned, "Ok, gimme the slap on the wrists or smack upside the head, and we'll just leave,"

"It's not that simple, fool," one of the fat men chuckled, "According to our ancient laws, any desecrators must be buried alive,"

"What the f-," Siho looked at the Chief, speechless.

The Chief chuckled, "In most cases. But the actions that you have exhibited towards me and my followers, has given me interested. Tell me boy, do you want to leave here?"

"What the _hell_ do you think?!" Siho snapped at him, "Of course I wanna get outta here!".

"Very well. I have a challenge for you. Win and you go free, lose and I'm afraid that you will be lost forever beneath the ground,"

Siho stared at him, then looked at his friends, some of who were giving up a small fight. Christina was now being bound with rope to keep her from kicking anyone in the groin anymore, while Jordan and Banner were being held against the stone floor.

"What kind of challenge?"

"Do you know what a Shadow Game is, boy?"

Siho snapped his head to the Chief, who was now holding up a deck of Duel Monster cards.

"Oh, you gotta be frickin' _kiddin_' me!"

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Ok, to those who wanted to see Siho duel more, well next chapter, your wish comes true! Ja ne! Hope this was good, btw.**


	40. Raiders of the Lost Duel Part Two

**Raiders of the Lost Duel Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time on GX, Professer Banner took Jaden and his friends on a field trip to an excavated site of ancient ruins, but shortly after arriving there, the entire group was transported to a strange place where they were captured by the denizens of the strange dimension. While Jaden was MIA, Siho took a swing at the Chief, the leader of the group who attacked them. Now, he must duel for his friends lives. Personally, I blame this whole damn thing on that fat cat of Banner's._**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The area was cleared away, so that only the Chief and Siho were standing in the large empty square. His friends had been taken somewhere, but he wasn't told where they were.

"I thought you said if I win this, my friends and I go free," Siho said quietly as he pulled out his duel disk from his knapsack.

The Chief nodded, "You will, should you win,"

"Then why'd you take them away?"

"I have my reasons boy," the Chief chuckled as a strange version of a duel disk appeared out of nowhere. The deck area was circular, and designed sort of like a conch shell, while the the field tray was perfectly straight. Definitely not an ordinary duel disk.

"DUEL!" they both cried, drawing their hands.

**C: 4000  
S: 4000**

"If you don't mind, I think since I'm the 'guest' here, I should go first," Siho drew his card and looked at his hand, "Ok, first I play the Spell known as Card Destruction! Now, both of us discards our entire hand, then we draw the exact same number of cards we had when I activated this card. So we both draw five cards.

The Chief didn't even seem to care as he sent his entire hand to the Graveyard, then drew his new cards.

_Alright..._ Siho smiled, looking at his new hand, "I play the Spell card, Pot of Greed!" he drew his next two cards, "Now, I play my Call of the Mummy! It works like this, if I have no monsters on my field, like now, I get to Special Summon one Zombie-Type monster from my hand. So, I choose my King of Skull Servants (?/0),"

The Chief raised an eyebrow as a skeleton dressed in tattered, purple garbs rose from the dirt, bones clacking against one another.

"In case you're wondering about his attack points, he has a cool effect. For every Skull Servant in my Graveyard, he gains 1000 points each. Guess what pal?" Siho held up his disk, "When I played Card Destruction, I had all three of my Skull Servants in my hand. So now that they're all in the Graveyard, he gains 3000 attack points!"

King of Skull Servants (3000/0)

"I'm not done, not by a long shot," Siho took a few more cards from his hand, "First, I summon Zombyra the Dark (2100/500) in attack mode," he paused as a dark caped man, covered in armor made of bone appeared alongside the King, "Then I'll equip him with the card known as Sword of Dark Destruction! When this sword is equipped to a Dark Attribute monster, like my Zombyra, they gain 400 attack points, but they lose 500 defense points,"

Zombyra the Dark (2500/0)  
King of Skull Servants (3000/0)

"Finally, I'll end my turn with two facedown cards," Siho finished as he put two of his remaining three cards into his disk slots.

_Just try and get through **that**, old man _he smirked.

"If you think that is impressive, then you are both foolish _and_ arrogant!" the Chief scoffed as he drew his card.

"Hold up!" Siho pressed a button on his disk and a huge red vase with a smiling face appeared in front of him, "I activate my Trap card known as Jar of Greed! It's like my Pot of Greed, but instead of drawing _two_ cards from my deck, I just draw _one_,"

The Chief scowled as Siho drew his extra card, "You dare to interrupt my own turn? You are not only arrogant and foolish, but you are also _rude_!" he looked at his hand, "I place two cards facedown, then I activate the Field card known as Necrovalley!"

_Necro...valley?_ Siho watched as their surroundings changed from an area of stone to a huge valley of dark rocks and dirt.

"Now, I'll summon Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) in attack mode," the Chief declared as a figure in a large, heavy black cloak and mask appeared on the field, a long curved dagger in his hand, "Thanks to Necrovalley, my Assailant gains 500 attack and defense points!"

Gravekeeper's Assailant (2000/2000)

"Next, I'll equip my Assailant with the Spell card Fairy Meteor Crush!" the Chief inserted another card into his disk, "Now, I'll activate my monster's ability: my Assailant can change the battle mode of your monsters, so I'll switch your bag of bones to defense mode!"

Siho raised an eyebrow as the Assailant's eyes glowed red and his undead King became a pile of bleach-white bones covered by it's tattered robes, _Huh...so **that's **what his defense mode looks like._

"Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack King of the Skull Servants with Stealth Slice Strike!"

The robed Gravekeeper monster flew to Siho's side of the field and rammed it's dagger right into the middle of the white skull. Siho screamed as intense pain racked his body, causing him to fall to his knees.

The Chief laughed, "Thanks to Fairy Meteor Crush, when my monster attacks your monster and it's in defense mode, the difference between my monsters attack points and your monsters defense points are taken out of your Life Points!"

**C: 4000  
S: 2000**

_The pain's real?! Then this **is** a Shadow Game! He wasn't lying, he was telling the truth! _he winced, _Dammit...but at least I still got Zombyra_ he glanced at his remaining monster, _He may not be able to attack him directly, but he could take out the Assailant and with the card I got in my hand _he looked down at the two cards in his hand, _I'll be able to do some payback!_

"I end my turn now, fool,"

Siho stood up slowly, wincing from the pain, "Bout damn time!" he drew his card, "First, I summon my favorite monster, Master Kyonshee (1750/1000)!" he smiled as his martial artist with a sutra on his face appeared in a backflip, "Now...," he inserted a card into his disk, "I play my Spell card Book of Life! This card allows me to revive a Zombie-Type monster from my Graveyard to the field! So c'mon back, King of the Skull Servants!"

The Slifer raised his hand to in the air, expecting his monster to come back. He looked at the field, and shook his disk.

"C'mon...work dammit!"

"Fool. That won't wo-,"

"Hang on!" Siho interrupted the Chief, shaking his disk, "_Klatu Verata Nikto!_ C'mon, work dammit!"

"I said that won't work!" the Chief barked at him, "As long as Necrovalley is active, no Spells, Traps, or Effects that involve the monsters in our Graveyards are negated. So, your attempt at resurrecting your King is futile!"

_Damn that's not good_ Siho looked at his disk, _Most of my deck involves Zombies and the Graveyard! This guy knows what he's doing..._

He looked up at the Chief, "So what? I still got a few monsters. Zombyra, attack Gravekeeper's Assailant with Dark Sword Slash!" he ordered.

Zombyra nodded and jumped to the other side of the field. The Assailant watched helplessly as Zombyra rammed it's Sword of Dark Destruction through his gut.

The Chief winced slightly as his Life Points began to decrease as Zombyra returned to Siho's side of the field.

**C: 3500  
S: 2000**

Siho smiled, but it soon disappeared as he looked on, seeing that the Assailant still stood on the field, hand over his belly.

"Dude, what the hell? Your monster should've been destroyed!"

"Yes," the Chief nodded and held up his disk, "But as your monster attacked my Assailant, I played an effect. By discarding one card from my hand, namely Charm of Shabti (100/100), the damage dealt to any of my Gravekeeper's are turned to zero. However, the leftover damage still goes to my Life Points,"

Siho grit his teeth as his Zombyra became weaker, _Great...my monster's attack points get lowered by 200 points after every attack, and even though he's still strong enough to take down the Asssailant, I already used his turn, and my Master Kyonshee isn't strong enough to take him down!_

Zombyra the Dark (2300/500)

"I end my turn," Siho said quietly.

The Chief drew his card and smiled, "Excellent. First, I play a Trap card known as Secret Barrel!" he declared, pressing a button on his disk. Siho watched as a series of strange machines carrying blue crytal-like coffins appeared out of nowhere.

"This card's effect, deals you 200 points of damage-,"

Siho grinned, "Oh good, thought it was bad,"

"-for every card you have on the field and in your hand!" the Chief finished with a smirk.

"...oh boy," Siho murmured just as a series of explosions surrounded him. Again, he screamed as his Life Points were taken away due to the blast.

**C: 3500  
S: 800**

"Now, I activate my second Trap card. It's called Rite of Spirit!" the Chief pressed another button on his disk, "This allows me to summon a monster from my Graveyard to the field as long as it has Gravekeeper in it's name! So I choose-,"

Siho waved his arms, "Hold on! I thought you said Traps, Spells, and Effects of monsters that involve reviving monsters were negated?!"

"True," the Chief nodded, smirking, "But _my_ Trap card isn't affected by Necrovalley," he explained as the ground opened up in front of him, "I summon my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1400/1200)!"

Siho watched as a dark-skinned man appeared on one knee, a small red and silver cannon over his shoulder, "Oh, now what?"

"Thanks to Necrovalley, he too, gets 500 extra points!" the Chief went on.

Gravekeeper's Cannonholder (1900/1700)

"Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack Master Kyonshee with Stealth Slice Strike!"

Once again, the Assailant flew to Siho's side of the field and brought his dagger against the flesh of Master Kyonshee. With a quick, fluid move, Master Kyonshee's sutra covered head fell to the ground before exploding.

**C: 3500  
S: 550**

Siho coughed violently after the attack, holding his side. He glared at the Chief through his long, ebony bangs, "You should've used the Fairy Meteor Crush again...you would've won,"

"I didn't need it,"

Siho stared at him, "What?"

The Chief chuckled, "I know activate the effect of my Gravekeeper's Cannonholder! By sacrificing a monster that has Gravekeeper in it's name, I can deal you 700 points of direct damage!"

_That means...NO!_ Siho stepped back as the Assailant disappeared and a ball of energy formed into the center of the Cannon.

"Cannon Blast!" the Chief roared, "Punish this desecrator!"

With an almighty _bang_, the Cannonholder shot his ball of energy at Siho. The Slifer caught it in the chest hard, sending him flying across the field, knocking him hard against a wall that appeared as the Necrovalley disappeared.

**C: 3500  
S: 0**

The Chief chuckled as his followers came out of a nearby door and picked up the unconcious Slifer, "Fool of a boy...I told you. You can't win against me," he turned to his followers, "Put him with the others. The Shadow Game didn't take away his soul, but that won't matter because he'll be buried alive like his friends!"

"Chief!"

The older man looked over his shoulder to see a young teenage girl with dark-skin, long black hair and a golden headband run up to him, her long black cloak fluttering behind him.

"What is it, Yasmin?" the Chief asked, noticing how fast she came to him.

Yasmin nodded to Siho, "Don't bury him yet! We have another intruder to the tomb! One like the others!"

The Chief frowned, "How can this be? I thought we caught all the trepassers!"

Shrugging, Yasmin shook her head, "I don't know how he managed to elude us, Chief, but I know where he is. If you spare that boy," she nodded to Siho, "I can take you to him!"

"Why? Why would I spare one trespasser just to find another?" the Chief demanded, "Do not test me, Yasmin!"

"I'm not!" she protested, "I know that all trespassers must be punished together, so if you take him and the others and bury them before finding this other trespasser, our law will be broken!"

The Chief stood there, looking at her hard, then turned to the group of spear-carrying followers, "Bring him with us. Yasmin," he turned to the girl, "Take us to him,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Dun dun dun...Siho lost his first actual Shadow Game, but now it's worse! The Gravekeepers seemed to have found Jaden! This doesn't look very good for our friends. Will Jaden be able to save them or suffer their fate? Find out in the next chapter!**


	41. Raiders of the Lost Duel Part Three

**Raiders of the Lost Duel Part Three**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time on GX: Heroes, Siho dueled against the Gravekeeper's Chief for his friends lives. But, even as Siho managed to bring out two strong monsters on his first turn, his deck and strategy were soon rendered usless as the Chief played a card that negated any effect that involved his Graveyard. Now, with him out of comission, it's up to Jaden to save him and the others!_**

**_Where the HELL is Jaden, anyway?_**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Jaden sat against the wall of the room, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. He had woken up in a strange place. It looked similar to the ruins, but also, totally different. The archway from Duel Academy was outside the giant building he was in, but it was whole instead of broken up. Also, the giant building he was in was...well..._existing_! The last time he had checked, that building wasn't there!

Soon after waking up in the strange world, he had met up with a teenage girl in black robes. She had warned him that this was sacred ground and that it was dangerous for him to be there in the first place. She mentioned that his friends were in great danger and that she would help him find them. Now, he was sitting in a large, stone room with carved windows above him, near the ceiling. For what seemed like hours, he sat there against the stone, his only company was Winged Kuriboh, who strangly enough, had become solid and actually touchable.

Jaden tugged at his hair, "What is taking her so long?!" he growled before a thought popped into his head, "Wait, what if she's working with this Gravekeeper Chief guy?"

"SOMEONE! HELP US!"

The scream of a girl made Jaden jump to his feet.

"That was Alexis!" he turned and looked up at the window. With a well placed jump and his upperbody strength, Jaden latched onto the opening and pulled himself up. Outside the room he was in, was a deep rectangular pit below him. Squinting, Jaden saw six stone coffins in the middle of the pit. His eyes widened, seeing that in the coffins were his friends. Each of them had their own coffin, and they were all wrapped with stuff that looked like it came from a mummy prep room.

A sharp prodding on his rear end made Jaden pale quickly. The poking meant that he wasn't alone anymore.

"Get down," a deep, gravelly voice ordered.

"Move _towards_ the sharp object?!" Jaden looked over his shoulder to see a small group of men in white clothes and black cloaks. Some were armed with spears, while others had daggers at their belts. While each of them were a different person, many of them looked the same, save one man. He had dark skin, much like the others, wore a fine robe of white and black with gold embroidery and a thick beard. Next to him, a large man was holding a familiar person in his arms, even with the hat.

"Siho!" Jaden gasped, worried about his friend, "What did you do to him?!

"_Now_," the bearded man hissed, ignoring the outburst.

"Ok, ok!" Jaden slid down the wall, rubbing his butt, "Ever hear of a handshake?". That question earned him about half a dozen more spears pointed towards him. Jaden held up his hands, extremely nervous at the turn of the situation, "I'm so sorry, where are my manners! I'm Jaden Yuki...and what would your name be?" he asked the bearded man he assumed was the leader.

"I am the Gravekeeper Chief and you have traversed on the sacred tomb that I protect,"

Jaden gulped, "Hey, that's great, pal! Now, how's about I just go and grab my friends, then we'll just head on out?" he offered shakily, "We'll zip back to the dimension we came from, ya know?"

"That is not possible,"

"Why not?" Jaden whined.

The Chief chuckled, "Because fool, you have tread upon my domain and now you will be punished along with your friends,"

"Oh c'mon, can't we just pay a fine or something?" Jaden asked desperately.

"You cannot,"

"Oh yeah? Then _you_ can't point your spears at me!" Jaden pushed the spears away, but cringed as the spearheads came back, pointed at his neck.

Again, the Chief laughed, "You show some spirit, Stranger. We will forgive your trespassing...given that you survive my challenge," he offered, "What do you say?"

Jaden looked at the spears, "Well, what's the challenge?" he shot back.

The Chief smiled and held up a deck of Duel Monster cards as his answer.

"A duel?" Jaden grinned as the spears were removed, "_Now_ you're speaking my language! I'll take you on, but only if you set all my friends free if I win! Deal?"

"Agreed," the Chief nodded, "But that's only _if _win,"

Jaden opened his pack and pulled out a duel disk from inside his pack, "For my friends, there's no if about it pal," he looked at Siho's unconcious body, then back at the Chief, "I'll win!"

"But, if you lose, you and your friends will be punished. You will be buried alive!"

-----

Jaden and the Chief stood on opposiite ends of the pit, high above the coffins that his friends occupied. Jaden's duel disk whirred to life as a strange duel disk appeared on the Chief's arm. The deck and Graveyard area had the shape of a round conch shell, but the tray for the field was straight as can be. Siho lay behind the Gravekeeper Chief, still out of it..

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Get your game on!" Jaden yelled from his end of the pit as he drew his cards.

"Get my game on?" the Chief repeated, drawing his hand, "What does that mean?" he demanded.

Jaden shook his head, "Sheesh, it's a saying. Ya know, like slang?"

"Slang?" the Chief glared at him, "How dare you speak to me with your filthy tongue from the mouth a serpent! I place a card facedown in defense mode, thus ending my turn," he declared as he placed the mentioned card onto the disk.

"Ending yours, and starting mine," Jaden drew his card and looked at it just as another hoot from Kuriboh made him smile, "Hey Kuriboh...," he glanced at his friend, then looked at his hand, "You're gonna love this...," he looked at his opponent, "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!"

Jaden smiled as his caped crusader came alive, "This guy's got some pop, too! When he's summoned to the field, and there's no monsters on my field, I can draw two more cards!" he drew his cards, "Sweetness...," he moved some of his hand around, "Next, I'll place one card facedown on the field and end my turn,"

The Chief drew his card, then placed it on the disk, "Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000)!" he paused as a man in black robes carrying a long spear appeared in front of him.

Jaden noticed that the monster card was identical to some of the men that held him in the room earlier.

"I hope your Bubbleman's draw gave you two _very_ good cards, because he's already outmatched in battle, and soon he will be outnumbered. I now summon, in attack mode, Gravekeeper's Guard (1000/1900)!" he waved his arm and the facedown monster from his first turn was revealed to be a fat man with a three-pronged spear. Again, Jaden was reminded of some of the men from before.

"_His_ effect," the Chief glanced at his Guard, "Forces one monster that's out to return to it's owner's hand. So, I choose Bubbleman!"

Multiple red rings emanated from the Guard and spread outward. As soon as the rings touched Bubbleman, a beam of red light shot upward and Bubbleman returned to Jaden's hand.

"Now that you are left unguarded, I'll attack you directly!" the Chief pointed to him, "Go, Gravekeeper's Guard! Attack with Blazing Blade Strike!"

The fat man with a spear lifted his three-pronged weapon and flew to Jaden's side, bringing it down hard across Jaden's chest.

**C: 4000  
J: 3000**

Jaden yelped and his hand went to his shoulder, "I felt that...," he looked over to Kuriboh, "This is _real_!"

-----

Down below, the lids to the coffins began to slowly close, inch by inch.

Pharaoh mewed and Banner shivered, "Hello! No joke it's real!" the Head of Slifer shouted up to his student.

"SOMEONE GET ME OUTTA HERE!" Christina screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Calm down, Christina!" Alexis and Jordan both yelled.

-----

"Now, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, wage your attack!" the Chief ordered his second monster, "Lunging Spear Assault!"

The second Gravekeeper monster let out a battle-cry before jumping to Jaden's side of the field and jabbing the Slifer in the gut with his spear.

**C: 4000  
J: 1500**

Jaden again winced after the blow and doubled over.

"Ok...I think I'm startin' to get it now," he panted, watching the monster return to his master, "This isn't just about Life Points, it's about my _life_!"

The Chief laughed mildly, "Yes," he pointed down at the coffins, which were starting to close up more and more, "and _their's_,"

-----

Syrus whimpered as it became darker in his own coffin, "Guys, I'm claustrophobic! For real!"

"Me too," Chumley whined, "If it'll get me outta here!"

Christina tried to bang her end of the her own coffin, "Professor Banner, this is all your fault!"

"_My_ fault?! Christina, what are you talking about?!" her teacher snapped.

"_You_ were the one who led us to the damn ruins!"

"But it was _Pharaoh_ that triggered the storm!"

"Jordan, how do you know?"

"Before we got here, I saw him digging into something and the next thing we know, we're having a damn _Tommyknockers_ relapse!"

A loud mewling was heard between then two coffins.

"Ok, then I blame that freakishly fat cat of yours, Banner! Damn you, Pharaoh!"

Another mewling, this time an angry one filled the air.

"Bring it on, ya frickin' _neko_!"

-----

"It's my turn now," Jaden drew his new card, "and I play the Spell card, Polymerization!" he cried as a swirling vortex appeared above him, "Elemental Heroes Avian (1000/1000) and Burstinatrix (1200/800) combine to create...," he paused, watching his feathered and leotard-clad Heroes merge together, "The Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

The Chief raised an eyebrow as a large, red-and-green winged monster with a dragonhead arm descended from the sky.

Jaden grinned, "Did my Bubbleman give me two good cards? Well, see for yourself because from both of them, came _him_," he waved his arm to the Spear Soldier, "And this next attack!".

The Spear Soldier yelled as a ball of fire rained down upon him from the Flame Wingman's arm, burning him to a crisp before exploding.

Groaning, the Chief covered his head from the backfire wave as his points went down.

**C: 3400  
J: 1500**

"Don't think you're outta the woods yet!" Jaden grinned some more, "Because for every attack point that Spear Soldier had when he was destroyed, get dealt to you as damage, courtesy of my Flame Wingman!"

Once again, the Chief covered himself protectively as a huge ball of fire shot down towards him. He held back a yell as the flames surrounded him.

**C: 1900  
J: 1500**

"Next, I'm gonna summon up Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in defense mode and end my turn," Jaden said as his robotic hound appeared alongside the Wingman.

-----

"You guys think he'll get us outta here?" Christina thought aloud.

Chumley shook in his coffin, "Duh, Chrissy, of course he will. What I'm worried about is Siho. Anyone see him?"

"No, I didn't see him since we got dragged off," Banner replied, "I hope he's alright,'

"It's ok, Jaden's gonna win this!" Syrus said in a shaky voice, "Way to play, Jay!"

Alexis stared up at the duel as her friends continued their argument on freedom, "If he's gonna get us outta here, Sy, then it's the only way he _can_ play,"

-----

"Alright, make your move," Jaden urged the Chief, "The quicker I win this duel, the quicker I can get my friends back!"

The Chief laughed, "All the quicker for them to be sent to their doom," he looked over his shoulder to Siho, "This one tried to save his friends in another challenge, but as you can see, he failed miserably. What makes you think _you_ can do it?" he asked, looking back at Jaden.

Jaden frowned, "I just know I'll win, that enough for ya? Now c'mon!"

The Chief drew his card and looked at his hand, "First, I'll change my Gravekeeper's Guard from attack mode to defense mode," he paused as his Guard knelt down onto one knee, "Then I'll place one facedown monster in defense mode as well,"

"I guess you don't know the first rule about Duel Monsters," Jaden commented as he drew his next card, "A good defense is a sweet offense. And who better to teach you that rule than Flame Wingman?" he looked to his monster, "Attack with Inferno Rage!"

Flame Wingman leapt into the air, aiming his dragonhead arm at the Gravekeeper's Guard. The flames gathered at the tip of the mouth and fired off like a rocket, blasting the Guard into fiery pieces and dealing the Chief some more damage.

**C: 900  
J: 1500**

Grunting, the Chief drew his next card, only to hold it outward, "I play Pot of Greed. This card allows me to draw two more cards from my deck," he then drew his extra cards and looked at them, smiling.

_I don't like **that** look..._ Jaden thought as the Chief looked at his other cards.

"Your friend here," he nudged Siho with his foot, "Fell victim to this deck before we found you, cur. Now it's time for you to suffer the same punishment," the Chief slapped a card onto his disk, "I play Gravekeeper's Assailant (1500/1500) in attack mode, and she will be joined by the mysticism of Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800)!"

Jaden watched as a young woman in a long black cloak with a curved dagger appeared on the field, shortly joined by a man in black robes. He had braided dark hair and a short, curved staff in his hands.

"Now, I shall activate the effect of Gravekeeper's Curse, an effect that will deal you 500 points of direct damage!"

Gravekeeper's Curse's staff seemed to grow larger as the monster began to glow with a yellow aura, followed by a high, shrill sound that filled the air.

"That sound...," Jaden winced and held his head as his points went down, "That's worse than Chum's snoring!"

**C: 900  
J: 1000**

-----

Once again, the coffins began to close up more.

"Find a happy place, find a happy place, find a happy place," Christina whimpered, thrashing in her coffin, "OH GOD HELP ME FIND A HAPPY PLACE!"

"Chrissy has gone bye-bye on us...," Jordan shifted as best he could, "You guys got anything?"

"Yes...," Banner's voice replied, "I'm glad I have those mints I brought for lunch,"

-----

Jaden glared at the Chief as the attack died down, "You're gonna have to do better than _that_!"

"Very well then," the Chief held up the second card he got from Pot of Greed, "Perhaps this will suffice. I cast Necrovalley!" the end of his tray popped open and he placed the card into it, "You're friend lost against this card...let's see how long _you_ last, fool,"

Jaden watched in amazement as the top of the tomb disappeared and a huge valley of dark rocks and dirt in the air appeared all around them. Both he and the Chief stood on top of giant rock pillars while their monsters floated on nothingness.

"Not good...,"

The Chief nodded, "As long as this card remains on the field, the power of the Necrovalley will increase the attack and defense points of my Gravekeeper's by 500!"

"What?!" Jaden's eyes widened, "You're kidding!"

Gravekeeper's Assailant (2000/2000)  
Gravekeeper's Curse (1300/1300)

Behind the Chief, Siho's fingers twitched slightly and his eyes slowly began to open up. His vision was blurry, but he could recognize his surroundings as well as the red and green blob on the other side of the Necrovalley.

_Jaden..._ Siho tried to pick himself up, but was unable to at the moment, _Kick his ass and do what I couldn't do. Save the others!_

"Now, Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack Flame Wingman!" the Chief ordered, not noticing the sound of movement behind him.

Jaden blinked, "What, you got sand in your eyes? Can't you see Wingman still has more points? Unless you got some sorta-,"

"Special ability?" the Chief cackled, "Yes, the Assailant does, actually. It allows her to change the battle mode of your Wingman from attack to defense!"

The Assailant's eyes glowed white and the Wingman was soon surrounded by a purple aura, forcing him to kneel down, arms over his chest.

"Oh man...," Jaden turned from his monster to the Chief, "Man, you really know how to duel, don't you?"

The Chief nodded, "The best is yet to come, boy. Assailant, attack Wingman!" he ordered, pointing to the defending Hero.

With a small grunt, the Assailant flew to Jaden's side of the field, her knife growing bigger. She appeared behind the Wingman and backstabbed him. Jaden cried out as his monster exploded before his eyes.

"Now, my Gravekeeper's Curse will destroy that cur!" the Chief pointed to Wroughtweiler, "Take him down!"

Again, Curse was surrounded by a yellowish aura, but he wasn't the only one. Wroughtweiler was also surrounded by the same aura seconds before being blasted into digitized bits and pieces.

Jaden grinned as he lowered his arm from his face, "Whoopsy. Did you forget _his_ special effect? When Wroughtweiler is destroyed, I get two cards back from the Graveyard: an Elemental Hero _and_ a Polymerization!"

"You have the wisdom of dirt," the Chief spat at him, "Necrovalley negates that effect!"

"Huh?!"

"Any Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect involving the Graveyard is completely usless! Just as you and your friend behind me have proven. He too, tried to use his Graveyard against me, but he failed miserably! It seems you will soon follow in his footsteps," the Chief laughed out loud, "Don't you see? Both you and your cards are useless here!"

Jaden looked down at his Duel Disk, then at his fellow Slifer, _Don't worry, Siho, I'll win this. I promise you! We'll all get outta here!_

-----

Alexis closed her eyes, having heard the Chief's words, "No. I refuse to believe it! I know that Jaden can save us!"

"I hope so," Chumley and Syrus said together.

"Oh no, it's no use, we're done for!" Banner moaned.

"That's not true!" Syrus shot back at his professor, "Jay's still winning, lookit the Life Points!"

"_Forget_ the Life Points, look at the Field!" Banner snapped lightly, "Jaden has no monsters out and the Gravekeeper's Chief has two!"

-----

Jaden felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek as the Gravekeeper Chief laughed confidently.

_How did this happen? We set out to find some ruins, and suddenly we're about to become some! This is no joke...if I don't get my game on, we're all gonna be long gone!_

The two duelists were so busy with the duel, neither of them noticed that Siho was sitting up, head hung low, bangs over his eyes and a smile on his face.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: OMG! Jaden can't use his Graveyard to bring back his Wingman! OH ITS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!**

**Yami K: dude, you are such a drama king.**

**Kilnorc: aw bite me. Ok, guys. I know this is shorter than the actual ep, but I figured it could make this an even four parter. Check ya'll later! ja ne!**


	42. Raiders of the Lost Duel Part Four

**Raiders of the Lost Duel Part Four**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time, on GX: Heroes, Jaden found himself confronting a group of Gravekeepers and saw that Siho was taken prisoner, as well as his other friends. To save them, he accepted the Chief's challenge of a game of Duel Monsters. Like Siho before him, he managed to hold his own and bring out a strong monster, such as his headliner the Flame Wingman, but after the Gravekeeper's Chief activated Necrovalley on Jaden as he did Siho, Jaden discovered that he couldn't use a monsters effect to bring back his monsters or spells to help him out. Now, he's staring down two monsters that are strengthened by the Necrovalley, while he has nothing on his own field! Can he win this and save everyone? Let's find out._**

**_I still blame that fat cat for all of this._**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The screams and cries for help from his friends and teacher rang in Jaden's ears as he stood silently on his side of the field. The Gravekeeper Chief had two monsters on his side of the field, along with that powerful Necrovalley card while Jaden didn't have anything but a facedown card on his side.

"Don't fret about your friends screams," the Chief chuckled, "Soon, they're voices will be muffled as they are buried alive deep beneath the earth,"

**C: 900  
J: 1000**

Gravekeeper's Assailant (2000/2000)  
Gravekeeper's Curse (1300/1300)

-----

Down below, his friends watched on for their would-be savior.

Alexis never blinked as she stared at the Slifer, "Jaden...,"

"I know you can win this, Jay!" Syrus said hopefully.

"And I know I want outta here!" Chumley moaned.

Christina shifted around again, "You ain't the only one, Koala-boy!"

-----

"Alright, now let's finish this!" Jaden drew his card. The second he pulled it out of his deck, he heard a familiar hooting. He looked down at the card and smiled, knowing it was his furry friend. That smile stayed as his turned to look at Winged Kuriboh, who stayed by his head, floating in mid-air, "I should've known! You always got my back, don't ya pal?"

Winged Kuriboh seemed to smile beneath his fur as he bounced up and down happily in the air.

"Or in this case," Jaden turned back to the duel, "To guard my front. Winged Kuriboh (300/200), I'm summoning you in defense mode!" Jaden slapped the card sideways on his disk and seconds later, his friend appeared before him.

He looked down at the coffins below him, "Hang on guys, I'll get you out of there!" he promised. Jaden looked back up to his opponent, "Your move!"

"How fitting. The blind lead the blind and the weak protect the weak. Hiding behind that Kuriboh may be your idea of defense, but in _my_ world, rodents like that are meant for pounding, not protecting!" the Chief laughed.

"He's no rodent!" Jaden snapped at him, "He's one of my very best friends!". He looked at his facedown card, _And you're about to see why..._

"Well, with friends like you he needs no enemies," the Chief commented as he drew his next card, "After all, you've just thrown him to the wolves!" he pointed to the Kuriboh, "Go, Gravekeeper's Assailant, Stealth Slice Strike!"

"Wrong!" Jaden watched as his facedown turned upward to reveal a pair of white feathered wings, "I got a Spell card! Transcendant Wings! Now, by giving up two cards," he paused as two of his cards from his glowed and appeared in the Graveyard, "he goes up to LV10!"

Kuriboh let out a hoot as an orb of bright blue light enveloped him.

The Chief smiled, "Foolhardy as it was predictable! Brainless cur, I _knew_ that you would play that!"

Jaden stared at him, "Huh?"

"Which is why I have this ready!" the Chief held up a card from his hand, "Behold the power of the Gravekeeper's Watcher (1000/1000)!!"

Jaden watched as the card in the Chief's hand glowed purple and from it came a man in similar robes to the Chief, a thick book held close to his body and a black turban-like hat on his hand.

"What the?!" Jaden watched as the Watcher approached the transforming Kuriboh. The purple aura clashed against the blue orb of light, sending sparks of both colors everywhere.

"What's happening?!"

"Fool!" the Chief smirked, "The same thing that's been happening since the beginning of this duel. You're _losing_! You see, by sending Watcher to the Graveyard," he paused and placed the card into the slot, "I can negate your level up!".

Seconds after the Watcher was sent to the Graveyard, the purple aura disappeared and Kuriboh remained in his original form.

"Since I have, I'll wage an attack. Stealth Slice Strike!"

Gravekeeper's Assailant once again flew to Jaden's side of the field, dagger growing longer and sharper. With a flick of her wrists, the Assailant sliced through Kuriboh, sending the furball straight to the Graveyard.

Jaden grunted at the loss, "Sorry, Winged Kuriboh. You took one for the team there. Thanks, pal,"

-----

"Good thing Winged Kuriboh was there," Syrus murmured.

Chumley turned to the direction of his friends voice, even though he couldn't see him, "You can say that again, Sy. His effect makes it so that Jaden doesn't take any damage on the turn he's destroyed,"

"That's true," came Alexis' quiet voice, "All he has to worry about now, is the next turn. But still, Jaden doesn't have any monsters out!"

"Oh for the love of Ra, Rhodes, you sure do know how to bring down the happy level!" Christina snapped.

-----

"Let's see. I've countered your move, I've destroyed your rodent, so there's not much left to do except place one card facedown," the Chief slipped a card into his disk.

"_Enough_!" Jaden snapped, "Winged Kuriboh's _not_ a rodent!"

The Chief laughed, "Would you prefer vermin or even rat?" he taunted.

"That's _it_!" Jaden growled as he drew his next card, "I play Pot of Greed!" he drew two more cards, "Now to play one of my two new cards. I summon Dark Catapulter (1000/1500) in defense mode!" he watched as his mechanical beast came to protect him, "But I'm not done yet! I play Mirage of Nightmare!" Jaden slipped another card into his disk, followed by three more cards, "Then, I'll play three facedowns and end my turn,"

_Ok, that should do it_ the Slifer thought,_ **and** that should set me up to win this match!_

"Very well. My draw,"

Just as the Chief drew his card, Jaden grinned, "_My_ chance to activate my Mirage card! When you draw your next card, my Mirage of Nightmare allows me to draw until I have four cards in my hand!".

After drawing, Jaden looked at his hand, "Sweet!"

"Sweet?" the Chief raised an eyebrow, "Does that wretched slang mean you've drawn some good cards? Well don't be so sure, you don't know what is good because you don't know what you're up against!"

Jaden took a deep breath _I don't like the sound of this..._

"I shall now sacrifice Gravekeeper's Curse to summon...myself! Gravekeeper's Chief (1900/1200)!" the Chief held up a card from his hand.

"Summon _yourself_?!" Jaden repeated, not sure he heard right.

The Gravekeeper's Curse disappeared in a swirling mass of light and was soon replaced by the owner of the card itself!

"Thanks to the power of Necrovalley, I gain 500 extra attack points and defense points, also, with me on the field, my Graveyard isn't effected by Necrovalley!" the Chief smirked, "Meaning _I _can use Spells, Traps, and Monster Effects on any monsters laid to rest there. But that's not all, I get to summon one Gravekeeper from my Graveyard!"

Gravekeeper's Chief (2400/1700)  
Gravekeeper's Assailant (2000/2000)

"Oh boy...," Jaden gulped at the news, "No way!"

"Rise! Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (1500/1000)!" the Chief commanded as his Graveyard slot glowed brightly. Soon enough, the spear-carrying Gravekeeper appeared by his side, his power rising thanks to Necrovalley.

Gravekeeper's Chief (2400/1700)  
Gravekeeper's Assailant (2000/2000)  
Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (2000/1500)

"Now, I shall play the Trap known as Rite of Spirit!" the Chief looked over his shoulder as the facedown card soon revealed itself, "I used this in my duel against your foolish friend, too. This card allows me to summon yet another Gravekeeper from my Graveyard, and I choose Gravekeeper's Curse (800/800)!"

Jaden groaned as the familiar Gravekeeper returned to the field, once again, powered up by the Necrovalley.

Gravekeeper's Chief (2400/1700)  
Gravekeeper's Assailant (2000/2000)  
Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier (2000/1500)  
Gravekeeper's Curse (1300/1300)

"When he is summoned to the field, 500 points of damage are dealt to you!"

Jaden yelled as pain coursed through his body and his Life Points went down.

**C: 900  
J: 500**

"Behold! The power of the Shadow Game!"

Jaden fell to his knees, "Sh-Shadow Game?!" he panted, "Is that what this is?!"

"Yes," the Chief laughed again, "and the game's almost over. For you, your Life Points, and for your friends!" he pointed downward and Jaden saw that the coffins were once again, closing by a little bit.

Jaden took another deep breath, "C'mon Jaden...gotta get your game on! Gotta do it for your friends, they're all counting on you! Don't let them down! Especially when down means six feet under in an old sarcophagus," he shook his head, "No way, no how!"

"Oh for the love of the Egyptian Gods, stop talking to yourself and kick this geezer's ass!"

Both Jaden and the Chief looked back and were surprised to see Siho, back on his feet, arms folded across his chest. Siho cracked his neck, smiling, "Seriously. If you care so much, focus on your strategy instead of talking to yourself!"

"What?! How could you be awake? You should be out cold!" the Chief barked at him. Siho glanced at him and held up the V sign, "It's gonna take more than a cheap shot from a cannon to keep me down, _baka_,"

Jaden looked on at his friend, then turned to the Chief, "That's it, they're coming home!"

"That's right! They're _eternal _home! Gravekeeper's Assailant, attack with Stealth Slice Strike!" the Chief ordered, pointing to the Dark Catapulter, "Remember, my Assailant has the effect to change that Catapulter's mode from defense to attack!"

The mech-monster rose to it's feet as the Assailant slowly descended upon it. The Assailant stared at Jaden as she moved down, almost as if she was hesitant to attack his monster.

"You've lost this duel!" the Chief cried triumphantly.

"Don't think so!" Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I activate Emergency Provisions! By sending two Spell or Trap cards from my field to the Graveyard, I gain 2000 Life Points!"

**C: 900  
J: 2500**

"Curse you!" the Chief barked, "But the Assailant's attack still goes through!"

Sure enough, the Assailant cut the Catapulter down the middle, and flew to her side of the field as the machine monster blew apart.

**C: 900  
J: 1500**

The Chief glared at the returning Assailant, "You should've attacked _faster_!" he scolded with a hiss. The Assailant bowed her head and returned to her place on the field.

Jaden watched with interest, then scowled, "Hey, it's not her fault you messed up, it's your own!".

"Shut your mouth!" the Chief snapped at him, "Better yet, why don't I shut it for you? After all," he held out his hand as a ball of red energy gathered in his palm, "I still have an attack. Now, I will use it!" he yelled, launching the energy at Jaden.

"Oh no, you won't!" Jaden shot back as he pressed another button on his disk, "Go Trap card, Draining Shield!"

A protective dome appeared around Jaden just seconds before the attack hit him, saving him fromt he blast.

"You can't!" the Chief roared.

Jaden grinned, "Oh, I can and I just did! Your attacks canceled out and I get Life Points equal to your attack points!"

**C: 900  
J: 3900**

"Pretty sweet, huh?" Jaden laughed.

Siho clapped his hands, "About time you turned this around, Yuki!"

The Chief's face distorted with anger, "Fool! You may have stopped _my_ attack, but I have another! Go, Spear Soldier!"

Jaden was knocked onto his back as the Gravekeeper rammed his spear into his gut, damaging more of his Life Points.

**C: 900  
J: 1900**

"Now, Gravekeeper's Curse will attack with Doomsday Purge!"

Jaden's body continued to take extreme pain as his body was enveloped by the familiar yellow aura of the Gravekeeper's power. He writhed on the rocky pillar, screaming at the top of his lungs.

**C: 900  
J: 600**

-----

Down below, the coffins continued to close more and more until just a small crack in each one was left, leaving a sliver of light shining into the coffins darkness.

"Oh god, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!"

"Christina, please, calm down!"

"I can't, Professor! I don't wanna die!!'

_First chance I get, I'm smacking her in the face_ the rest of the captives thought to themselves.

-----

The Chief laughed as Jaden managed to pick himself up from his place on the ground, "You're proving to be even less of a challenge than I thought," he paused, hearing sobs coming from Jaden, "Come now, fight back! This is barely fun anymore!"

The sobs turned into laughter as Jaden lifted his head, a large smile on his face.

"Really? Because _I'm_ having a blast!"

"Your friends lives are at risk, and you say you are having a blast?" the Chief asked, not sure if his opponent was going insane.

Siho was wondering the same thing too, "Seriously, I'm rooting for you, Jaden, but c'mon, isn't there anything you _don't_ laugh at?!"

"You got that right," Jaden rose to his feet, dusting the seat of his pants off, "Because I'm just one turn away from winning this duel!"

"You are wrong," the Chief argued, "and once you see what I'm about to play, you'll see why!" he slipped a card into his disk, "I play the Spell known as Royal Tribute! This is a card that I can activate as long as Necrovalley is on the field! Now, we both discard all monster cards in our hands to the Graveyard!"

Jaden looked down at his hand to see three of his cards disappear and then reappear in his Graveyard slot, "Not good!"

"No, it's not!" the Chief smiled, "Well, not for you at least. Now, whatever monsters you were planning to win with-,"

"-are gone," Jaden finished. He looked at the remaining card, _All I have is The Warrior Returning Alive, which I can't even **use** thanks to Necrovalley! With no monsters in my hand, I gotta draw something big to save my friends. It all comes down to this!_

Jaden drew his card and looked at it, _Sweet! One of my most powerful monsters!_ he thought with a smile before looking up at the Chief.

The Chief chuckled again, "Drawn a good monster have you? Too bad you can't use a sacrifice to bring it out!"

Scowling, Jaden looked at his card again, _He's right. For this one, I'd have two sacrifice two monsters and I don't have **any**!_.

He stood there for a few moments looking at his two cards and smiled after his period of silence. He glanced up at his opponent, "Then again. Maybe..._just_ maybe, I don't need any!" he nodded, "Yeah! Necrovalley Field Spell card is all I need!"

"Please!" the Chief scoffed, "Necrovalley negates any effect aimed at monsters in the Graveyard!"

Siho frowned, "Hate to argue with the old fart here, but he's right. Jaden, have you lost your mind?"

Jaden only grinned, "Exactly. Only it doesn't negate the effects coming _out_ of the Graveyard!"

"WHAT?!"

"Don't 'what' me! You know exactly what I'm talking about! My monsters in the Graveyard? If they have an effect I can use, I'm gonna use them!"

"_NO!_"

_Effect from within the Graveyard? Even I don't have a monster that can bypass Necrovalley's effect! What monster is Jaden talking about? _Siho looked at his fellow Slifer Red intently.

"Yes...," Jaden reached for his Graveyard, "and I'm sure I can find one that'll come in handy right now! After all, it's been a long duel and I got a bunch of monsters down in the Graveyard to choose from! Thanks to that card you played earlier...,"

-Flashback-

_"You are wrong," the Chief argued, "and once you see what I'm about to play, you'll see why!" he slipped a card into his disk, "I play the Spell known as Royal Tribute! This is a card that I can activate as long as Necrovalley is on the field! Now, we both discard all monster cards in our hands to the Graveyard!"_

-End Flashback-

"Yeah, you see, what helped you out so much back then, is gonna hurt you now!" Jaden grinned as his Graveyard glowed, "Because one of those monsters I discarded was a certain Elemental Hero...one called the Elemental Hero Necroshade (1600/1800)!"

Both the Chief and Siho watched in amazement as a new monster appeared behind him. It had blood-red flesh, huge shoulders, and bone armor covering a little bit of it's body.

"He allows me to summon one Elemental Hero without a sacrifice one time and one time is all I really need!" Jaden slapped a card onto his disk, "Because the monster I'm gonna bring out is the Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/2200)!!"

_No frickin' way!_ Siho watched in amazement as the golden Hero came to his master's aide, _He actually side-stepped Necrovalley's effect and brought out the monster that'll save us! This kid is...something else!_

"Now, Bladedge, attack Gravekeeper's Curse with Slice 'n Dice Attack!" Jaden ordered, pointing to the staff-wielding Gravekeeper.

The golden Hero soared across the empty area between duelists and sliced through the Gravekeeper with such ease. The monster exploded and the rest of the Chief's Life Points went along with it.

**C: 0  
J: 600**

"That's game!" Jaden did his two finger salute as Necrovalley sank into nothingness and the surrounding tomb appeared once more.

The Chief groaned in pain and Siho rushed to his side, shortly before the Assailant and a group of spear-carrying Gravekeeper's ran to the both of them.

"Is he okay?!" Jaden ran around the square perimeter as Siho helped the Assailant get her leader to his feet.

She looked at Siho, "Why are you helping him? After all we put you and your friends through...,"

Siho shook his head as he put the Chief's arm around his neck, "It's in the past. Jaden won, and we're going home. I hold no hate for this man...nor to you,"

While Siho helped the other two, Jaden was barred passage from reaching them by the other Gravekeepers. The Chief noticed this and waved his arm, "No! He lives!" he looked at Jaden, "He was a worthy opponent,"

Jaden grinned, "Aw thanks! Your moves were pretty tight, too! It was a sweet match, let's duel again sometime!"

"What?" the Chief stared, flabbergasted, "You mean you enjoyed playing in a Shadow Game?"

"Oh, this freakin' nutcase enjoys just about anything," Siho cracked, "Even if it does put his friends lives at stake,"

Jaden nodded and looked at the people keeping him from advancing, "And you guys? You were pretty scary!"

The Gravekeepers could only stand there, not sure what to say in response to Jaden's words.

"Only one other person has passed this challenge," the Chief took a deep breath, still recovering from the attack, "That is, until now. For overcoming our trials, I bequeath unto you," he reached up and pulled at something from under his shirt, "this mystic medallion,".

Siho's eyes went wide as Jaden was given a large, golden pendant with a ruby stone in the middle of it. He was practically drooling at the sight of it, but quickly shook his head, _No touchy...no touchy...no touchy. Despite what others say, there is honor among those who study our craft..._ he looked at the pendant, _But c'mon!_

"Some gift," Jaden held up the pendant, "It's only half!"

"But of course!" the Chief lightly scolded, "The only other person who passed the challenge has the other half. Hopefully, when the time comes for you to battle in another Shadow Game, this medallion will serve you well,"

"Sweetness...I'll be sure to remember that," Jaden said as he placed the medallion necklace around his neck.

Siho watched as the Chief waved his arm, then saw the coffins down below them open all the way, his friends free at last.

"We're free!" Syrus yelled happily.

"Ugh, someone turn down the light!" Chumley moaned.

"Not me, I love light, light is my friend!" Banner said joyously as Pharaoh mewled.

Alexis looked up, "Wow, Jaden. You saved us..," she said as hers and the others wrapping became undone.

As all six of them climbed out of their respective coffins, a trickling sound was heard. They all turned back to see some kind of liquid from above come down and splash against the lids of the nearest coffin. Whatever it was, it came in the form of a stream. Pharaoh barely had enough time to get away, but still ended up getting splashed by the liquid.

"Is that...," Jordan sniffed the air.

"It can't be!" Chumley gagged, holding his nose.

"That's gross!" Alexis moaned, turning away.

"SIHO!" Banner, Christina and Syrus tilted their heads up, glaring at the Slifer.

"SORRY GUYS! LOOK OUT BELOW!!" Siho laughed as it came to a slow stop. He zipped up his pants and turned back to see the Gravekeepers looking not very pleased, but also horrified at what he had just done.

"Oh c'mon! We're already free and I had a lot to drink before we got stuck here!" he said defensively, buckling his belt, "Besides, I don't know where the crapper is,"

-----

After some backtracking, some hard walking, and Siho getting his just dues for his act of 'desecration', everyone of the Duel Academy group were now standing outside the tomb of the Gravekeepers.

Banner smiled at his student as Christina took Pharaoh from him, "I knew you would pass this test, Jaden,"

"Wait, what do you mean 'test'? Don't you mean challenge?" Jaden asked as Christina held Pharaoh with Siho's jacket.

"Uh...," Banner blinked as every other of his students turned to him, "Of course, that is what I mean. I mean, a test is a challenge, right? It's the same thing, really!"

The Gravekeeper Chief turned to Jaden, "Well, it is time for you and your friends to return to your own world,"

"Sounds good to me!" Jaden turned to him and the masked girl, "Just how do we get back?"

"Go to the gate of the tomb," the Chief instructed, looking to the sky, "When the three suns meet, the Veil of Radiance will appear before you. _That_ is how you get home,"

"Uh...ok," Jaden scratched his head, not really understanding.

The sound of marching made them all look off to the side to see a large group of Gravekeepers coming towards them, weapons at the ready.

The Chief scowled at them all, "Fools! What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"They are trespassers!" one yelled, "They must be punished! If not by you, then by one of us!"

"Punished! Punished! Punished!" the rest of the Gravekeepers chanted as they all advanced on them.

Siho held up his hands, "Listen, boys. We can go, alright? We can leave, we're not desecrators!"

"So says the dork that peed on their holy ground," Alexis and Jordan muttered. Siho prayed that the others didn't hear that.

The Chief nodded and stood in front of the group, "Jaden has defeated me and has been forgiven for their misdeeds!" he glanced at Siho, who was looking pretty nervous right now, "_All_ of their misdeeds," he added.

_YES!_ Siho grinned, _Home free, baby!_

Even that didn't stop the Gravekeeper mob from trying to kill Jaden and his friends. What _did_ stop them was the Assailant, who stepped between them, her blade clashing and clanging against the weapons of her fellow Gravekeepers.

Her mask became loose as she knelt down in front of her leader. Jaden stared at her, "It's you!"

The girl had dark skin, like the others, but beautiful ebony hair and a golden headband across her brow.

Siho grinned, "Hey there, babe...," he waved, "How's about you and me-,"

"Yes," the girl rose to her feet, interrupting Siho, "I'm sorry I had to fight you, but I had to obey my Chief. I am the Gravekeeper's Assailant, but my real name is Yasmin,"

"Well then Yasmin," Siho's hand seemed to wander down below her back, "How's about you and me ditch these guys and you can show me some of the tricks you Gravekeeper's know?"

Jordan, Chumley, Syrus, Banner, and Jaden winced as Siho recieved a two-hit combo. One punch in the face, and the butt of Yasmin's dagger in his groin. The Slifer went down, holding his, ahem, 'family jewels'.

Yasmin glared at Siho, "Be thankful I didn't feed you to a pit of hungry beetles!" she spat before turning to Jaden, "When you get back to your world, tell the one who holds the other half of the medallion that Yasmin is still in the other world and that I haven't forgotten him, and that we _will_ meet again,"

"You got a boyfriend?" Siho squeaked out as he shakily rose to his feet, "If you had said that, I wouldn't have tried to cop a feel offa ya!"

Angry grunts and the shuffling of feet made her snap back to the mob, "Get back! He has won his freedom and we must honor our sacred law! We are the keepers of the grave, not the makers! Unless you wish to fight me as well," she raised her daggers to make a point.

_Dude, this chick rocks! _Christina grinned at her friends misery, _Too bad I don't know anyone like her back home!_

"I would hurry if I were you," Yasmin advised as the crowd split into two halves, creating a passage for them.

"No joke..," Jaden grabbed Siho, "Hope that teaches you not to probe like an alien, Siho,"

"Aw bite me, Jaden,"

A light hooting made everyone look down at Jaden's belt just in time to see Winged Kuriboh pop out of his master's deck.

Jaden grinned as Kuriboh floated away, hooting, "I think he wants us to follow him!"

Siho limped alongside his friend as they ran after Kuriboh, "This is some seriously messed up sh-,"

"Siho!" Banner scolded.

"Sorry...," Siho looked up at the sky, seeing the three orbs joining, "Guys, we don't have much time. The suns are combining!" he yelled, "We gotta hurry!"

As they neared the gateway, a loud grunt made them turn around. Chumley was on the ground, holding his leg, wincing.

"You okay, Koala-boy?" Christina asked, rushing to him.

"I'm fine," Chumley waved at them all, "You don't have much time. Just leave me behind!"

"No way!" Christina and Jaden snapped together.

"You must-!" Chumley's protest was interrupted as a dull growl was heard from within his backpack. His pack glowed and a Des Koala popped out, leaves sticking out of it's mouth.

"Again, I say this is some _seriously _messed up sh-,"

"_Siho!_"

After Des Koala managed to take Chumley onto it's shoulders, it took off like a rocket towards the gate, the others close behind.

"I love running!" Chumley whooped.

"Then get off your fat, grilled cheese eatin' ass and do more of it!" Siho snapped.

"Siho!" Banner glared at him, "Apologize!"

"Hey, I just got nabbed in the nuts, teach, I think I should at least _one_ angry outburst without interruption or punishment!"

The group reached the archway just as beams of familar green light shot out of the ground and up towards the colorful sky above them.

As the light engulfed them, everyone held on to each other for dear life.

"PHARAOH, I STILL BLAME YOU FOR THIS!" Christina's words rang throughout the tomb area even after they vanished.

Yasmin smiled, "They're back where they belong now...,"

The Chief nodded, "Yes...but tell me, Yasmin," he turned to his Assailant, "Would you really have put that perverted one in pit of beetles?"

"What do you think?"

-----

Jaden slowly opened his eyes. His vision came clearer after blinking a few times. He was laying against a stone pillar, just next to the broken archway of the ruins site while Alexis' head was on his shoulder. Jordan's head was on her lap, his hand in hers.

Banner was on the ground, Pharaoh on his face while Christina lay nearby. Chumley and Syrus both lay spread-eagled a few feet away and Siho was curled up into a ball.

"Hey guys...," he eased his way out from under Alexis, not wanting to wake her. He got to his feet and saw his Winged Kuriboh card just under his sneaker. He bent down, picked it up and looked at the others again. Chumley's Des Koala card laying near his head.

"Huh...," Jaden scratched his head, "Must've been a hallucination from those moldy sandwiches at lunch time," he thought aloud before feeling something heavy around his neck. He looked down and his eyes widened at the sight of the medallion he won from the Gravekeeper Chief.

"Maybe not...,"

Siho rolled over, tears leaking from his eyes, hands at his groin, "I didn't need to feel that pain...,"

Jaden laughed at his friend, "But still...," he looked up at the orb of fire above them, "At least we're back to _one_ sun. Although," he looked back at his Winged Kuriboh card, "Something tells me that the Shadows will be back,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Do I detect a bit of fore_shadowing?_ LOL!**

**Yami K: BOO!**

**Kilnorc: hush, you! Well, the Gravekeepers are over, so ya'll know what that means...mwahahaha. Catch ya later, ya'll. Ja ne!**

**P.S. I had fun making Siho do funny stuff and being in pain...it was good fun.**


	43. Volcanic Duel Part One

**Volcanic Duel Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: Finally...the big moments ya'll been waiting for. Shadow Rider time! But there's a bonus with this particular arc. What is it, you ask? New bad guys!**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed late one night as Chancellor Shephard stood alone in his office, his lights turned off. He stood at the window, watching the rain roll down the glass as the sky was illuminated by the lightning. Something had been troubling him lately, something very important. It was something that would change the lives of many that were on the island.

Another flash of lightning came, but this time, Shephard saw something. He waited until the lightning flash again, then saw a couple of dark objects flying across the sky, through the storm clouds.

He frowned, placing his hands behind his back, eyes never leaving the sight, "And so, it begins. The fight...the War...,".

As Shephard stayed in his office, the pair of dark forms flew through the air until coming to a complete stop on the moutainside, just below the rim of the volcano that stood on Duel Academy Island.

Two seperate figures stepped off of their hang-gliders, the objects from the sky, and stepped a bit away as the both were enveloped in flames. One was a tall figure, and the other one was a smaller figure.

The taller one gazed out from behind it's mask and chuckled darkly. A bright glowing made the figure look down at it's chest to see a half-pendant around it's neck glowing a golden aura. The second figure looked at it, then at it's companion.

Both of them remained silent as they looked out at the island, their heavy coats fluttering in the blowing wind of the storm.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the storm, Jaden was fast asleep, snoring the night away. Chumley and Syrus lay curled up underneath their own blankets as the storm raged own, the both of them frightened by the intensity of it.

"I don't get it, Chumley," Syrus looked underneath his bunk to see Jaden roll over onto his side, "How can Jaden sleep through this?"

"Forget the guy who _can_ sleep, think about the guy who _can't_ sleep!" Chumley snapped at his friend, climbing down onto his bunk, "Hold me!"

None of them, not even Jaden, noticed a glow coming from the medallion that the Gravekeeper Chief had given to him.

In his room, Siho lay on his bed, wide awake at the sound of the storm, too. But, he wasn't afraid like his friends. He usually enjoyed these sort of natural occurences, but something had been troubling him for a few hours now.

_Why do I get the feeling that things are gonna get a little hectic around here, soon?_ he thought, taking out his deck and fanning it out, _Something big is about to happen, and I have a hunch it's not a major test by Crowler._

-----

The next day, things went about their normal routine, despite Siho's gut feeling the night before. Banner's class on Alchemy, while it did provide some insight on fusion monsters, were still as boring as ever. Even as the class finished up it was still pretty boring.

Jaden lifted his head from his desk and pulled up the face mask he had made sometime before, yawning.

_Still can't believe he doesn't get into trouble with stuff like that..._ Siho thought, glancing at him, then Banner, _Then again, it's cool to have a teacher who doesn't ride ya for every little thing ya do._

"Alright!" Jaden stretched, "Time to get up,"

Syrus looked away from his PDA, "For the next class?"

"Nope," Jaden grinned as he pulled out and opened up his lunchbox, "Time to get up for lunch!" he turned to his lunch, "Oh yeah, the one subject I can't get enough of!"

"Just a moment there Jaden," Banner called out to his student just as Jaden stuffed his mouth with a piece of fried food, "I'm afraid your lunch will have to wait. It seems Chancellor Shephard wants to have a word with you,"

Jaden bit into his food, "Hm?"

Chumley and Christina leaned forward behind Jaden.

"Hey, I'll be glad to watch your lunch for ya," Chumley offered, "Especially if it has a side of grilled cheese in there,"

"Or some cheesy rice, or fried chicken," Christina added, glancing at the food.

Jaden laughed slightly, looking at his friends, "You wish!"

"Chancellor Shephard?" Syrus murmured worriedly, looking at his best friend, "Jaden, what did you do?"

Shrugging, Jaden swallowed his bite as his mask fell over his eyes, "I dunno. Maybe it's good news, like an award or something,"

"Yeah right!"

The small group turned to see Chazz rising from his seat. Chazz never did get a Slifer blazer, and now always wore his black coat for some reason.

Chazz smirked, "It's _never_ good news when you go to Shephard's office!" he pointed at Jaden and laughed, "You are so _busted_!"

"Actually, Chazz, he wants to see you too,"

"Say what?!" Chazz snapped his head to Banner, eyes wide.

Banner nodded, "You heard me. He also wants to see two others," he scanned the different sections of his classroom, "Bastion and Alexis,"

Jaden frowned as his friends stood up in their place at the mention of their names, "This doesn't sound good,"

Siho nodded, hearing his friend, _Something's up..._

-----

"We're not gonna make a run for it, Professor Banner, you don't have to escort us to Chancellor Shephard's office!"

Banner nodded as he led the three down the hallway, "Yes, I do. It seems that Chancellor Shephard wants to have a word with me as well,"

The small group reached Shephard's door just as two others arrived at the same time. It was Zane and Doctor Crowler.

"Well, well," Crowler smiled at the group, "Look at this convocation of students. Some of the best students in the school, I see,".

His smile widened slightly as he took notice of Jaden. He leaned to the side to make eye contact, "Uh oh. One of these things is nothing like the other," he said in a small sing-songy voice, "Looks like _someone_ is a little bit lost,"

"No he's not," Jaden smiled and glanced to the person at his right, "Chazz was invited here,"

"He means you!" the former Obelisk snapped.

The group of seven entered the office of the headmaster and stood there for what seemed like hours as the balding man explained to him why they were there.

"Three Legendary _what _cards?" Jaden asked when he got the opportunity between sentences.

"Demons," Shephard turned away from the window and looked at him, "and due to their colossal power, their intense might, they were hidden here,"

"Sweet...," Jaden looked up at the ceilng in thought, "Like in someone's mattress or in a cookie jar?"

Chazz glared at him, "Let him finish!" he hissed.

"They're _not_ in a cookie jar," Shephard continued, "They're actually much closer than you'd ever think," he pointed down, "Right below you,"

The group of seven murmured and looked at their feet.

"You see, Duel Academy was built in part to _protect_ the Demon cards. They were buried deep underground, their power sealed safely away. After all, legend has it that if these cards _ever_ see the light of day...," Shephard put his hands behind his back and his face became more solemn, "Terrible things will happen. Buildings will crumble, light will fade, souls will fall. Our world will be no more!"

Alexis gulped at what her headmaster had just said.

Bastion's eyes were as wide as plates, "No more...?"

Chazz's brow furrowed, a scowl on his face.

"So where are these cards?" Jaden asked, seemingly unphased by the news, "I say we take 'em out for a spin!"

"HAVEN'T YOU BEEN LISTENING?!" Crowler screamed at the Slifer, "HE JUST SAID THEY CAN'T SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY!"

Shephard gestured for him to quiet down, "This is why I've gathered you here today. You seven are to protect the Legendary Demon cards from the wicked ones,"

Zane frowned and raised an eyebrow, "Wicked ones?"

"That's right," Shephard nodded, "Seven duelists known as Shadow Riders who covet these cards," he glanced over his shoulder, out the window, "I'm afraid two of them are already here. They arrived in the thick of last night's storm,"

"Naturally," Bastion murmured, "The villian's most used cliche,"

"Ok...," Alexis took a deep breath, "So how do we protect these cards?"

Shephard brought out a small black box, "By protecting the seven Spirit Gates. To get to the cards, one must unlock them, and to unlock them, one must gain the seven keys that are needed for each gate. _That_ is how we will protect these cards, by protecting the keys...and here they are,"

Everyone watched as Shephard opened the box. Inside, within the lined interior, were seven golden oddly shaped items.

"One for each of you to guard,"

Bastion looked at them, "Wait. If we hold the keys, won't that make us targets for these Shadow Riders?"

Shephard nodded, "It's true. With these keys, the Shadow Riders _will_ seek you out,"

"Uh, seek us out?" Chazz blinked, "You mean _take_ us out!"

"Only in a duel," Shephard went on, "Fortunately for _our_ side, the keys can't be simply stolen. An ancient edict commands that the keys to be won in a duel. So, I've called upon our schools seven best to take up this challenge and fight the good fight!" he cleared his throat as he looked at them all, "Well, _five_ best, but I needed seven so...you know,"

Crowler leaned into Jaden's view, "He certainly doesn't mean _me_!" he hissed.

"Of course, if any of you think that you aren't up to it, and feel like backing out, I won't blame you. After all, these Shadow Riders play for keeps. So...," Shephard pushed the box and the keys outward to the group, "Who feels like saving the world?"

Bastion looked at Alexis.

Alexis looked at Chazz

Jaden grinned and snatched a straight key, "Count me in!" he laughed as he placed it around his neck, "How about that, it's just my size!"

Hearing him, Zane couldn't help but smile. He reached and grabbed another key, "I too, accept,"

Bastion nodded and reached for another, "It'd be my honor,"

Chazz just grunted as he snatched his respective key.

"I don't want you boys having all the fun," Alexis said jokingly as she took a key.

"How can I refuse? After all," Crowler wagged a finger, smiling, "Our very world is at stake! Our way of life, the future of our school," he took the second to last key, "and if I said no, I wouldn't have this very posh piece of jewelry,"

Shephard facefaulted, "Well, I'm glad you're doing it for all the right reasons...," he muttered to Crowler.

"Well then, I'm the last one it seems," Banner walked over and claimed the final key for his own. He held it up, looking at it as Pharaoh mewled and pawed at it.

Jaden looked at his fellow key protectors, then clapped his hands, "Well, let's get started. The best duelist should go first so that would mean...me!" he said with a stupid grin.

"You?!" Crowler screeched in his ear, making the Slifer fall over, "You couldn't beat a drum!". He then turned to Shephard, "Obviously, _I_ should go first! If not, I say Zane," he waved to his favorite pupil, "After all, he _did_ beat Jaden,"

Jaden picked himself up, only to meet Crowler's sneering face half-way up.

"That's right," the Obelisk Blue professor whispered, "I know all about that little match you had with Zane, and I mean little because I heard you lost in no time at all! How _pathetic_,"

Chazz scoffed, "Forget the both of 'em, _I'm_ clearly the best choice!"

"There is no _choice_," Shephard said, finally stepping in the argument, "This _isn't_ some tournament where you get to choose who goes first, this is war! You could be attacked by your enemy at anytime and any place. My students and colleagues, be on your guard...,"

While the seven of them were busy on the inside, one person was on the floor, ear pressed against a nearby vent grate, having heard the whole conversation.

-----

Later that night, Jaden was in his dorm room telling the others what his newly appointed duty was and what it was all about.

"...so that's about it," he finished, running his finger along his key, "Now, I just wait,"

Syrus stared at him, still not believing what he had heard, "Aren't you scared?!" he squeaked.

"No joke," Chumley nodded, "Creepy Shadow guys lookin' to beat you so they can destroy the entire world...," he sat back in his desk chair, "I mean, that's pretty intense!"

Siho and Kairi nodded.

"Damn straight, Hero boy,"

"You sure you wanna do this?"

Jaden nodded, "Yeah. It's not only intense, but it's also exhausting...," he let out a long yawn, "So I'm gonna hit the hay,"

"WHAT?!" Siho, Kairi and Syrus cried in unison.

"You can't go to sleep right now, what if a Shadow Rider shows up?!" Syrus pointed out.

"You'd be a sitting duck!" Kairi added.

"Are you outta your frickin' mind?!" Siho snapped.

Jaden shrugged and put his arms behind his head, "I'm sure they'll wake me up to duel for the key. I only hope it's not before ten," he took a breath and exhaled calmly, "Actually, make that eleven. You know, time for a shower and stuff,"

Syrus put his head on the back of his seat, "Wow, Jay. You sure are chill about this,"

"Hey, no wait...," Jaden sat up, "Better make it twelve. I'd probably need to eat breakfast too,"

"The fate of the world lies in your hands, and all you're worried about is food?!" Siho rose to his feet, eye twitching, "My God, you're like the male version of Chrissy!"

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Chumley asked, looking around, "She should be here so she knows what's going on,"

Siho waved him off, "Hell, I know. Banner had to talk to her about a missing homework thing, or something like no more hugging Pharaoh as if he were a plushie,"

Syrus sweatdropped, then turned to Jaden, "Siho _does _have a point, Jay, maybe you could skip breakfast?"

"Yeah," Chumley nodded, eyes glazed over, "I'll look after it for ya...,"

Jaden grinned, "Yeah...sure, Chum. Well, now that _that's _settled," he turned around and climbed onto his bunk, "I'm gonna settle myself between the sheets. I'll see you guys tomorrow...," he let out another yawn and rolled over onto his side, "...when I save the world,"

Kairi shook her head, "This kid is beyond normal,"

Siho shrugged, "Depends on what the definition of normal is,"

Chumley watched Jaden snore, then turned to Syrus, "Well, at least he'll be well rested," he pointed out.

-----

Later that night, as the moon glowed with an orange color, Alexis walked down the path towards Jaden's dorm room alone, her key bouncing as she walked.

_If what Chancellor Shephard was right, and it's the Shadow Riders who decide who to duel, odds are they'll go for who they think is weakest first _Alexis thought as her heels dug into the dirt, _With that Slifer Red jacket, that's Jaden. I gotta warn him!_

Opposite of the Slifer Dorm, in the treeline, two sets of feet appeared next to a large tree. A pair of glowing red eyes pierced the shadows, staring at a certain room on the second level.

The second figure started walking to the dorm when the taller one placed a hand on the second's shoulder.

Looking back, the second one saw the first one shake it's head.

"No...this one is mine,"

"What?!"

"You heard me. You're here to observe, so observe!"

Inside the room, Jaden and his roommates were fast asleep, unaware of the potential danger outside. Siho sat on one of the desk in the room, legs crossed and arms folded, wide awake.

_These Shadow Riders want to destroy the world by taking hold of the Legendary Demons..._ he glanced at Jaden, _But to do so, they'll have to go through Jaden and the others. While I have respect for Jaden and the others...well, maybe not Crowler...I think they can still use some help._

Siho held up his deck, _Made some adjustments to this puppy. If I can pretend to be a Key Keeper, I can try and fight against the Riders to save the guys some trouble. I know I'm putting myself at risk, but if it's to save the world that Chrissy and I love so much, then I'll do it._

A bright light suddenly filled the room. Siho yelped and fell off the desk.

"Dammit!" he covered his eyes, "Who the hell installed halogen lights outside the window?!"

"Kuriboh, keep it down,"

Siho turned and, keeping the light out of his eyes, saw that Winged Kuriboh was floating around Jaden's head, hooting like crazy. Jaden was rubbing his eyes, obviously waken up by the Duel Spirit.

"Jaden!"

The Slifer rolled over quickly and saw the light, "What's going on?!"

Siho shook his head, "I dunno, but if no one put any lights in, I'd say we got a major problem on our hands right now!"

Jaden looked at the light, and saw that the ceiling had a purplish light while the rest of the room had a blue-ish light. He bent down and grabbed his duel disk, a bad feeling in his heart.

"Dude, your pendant!"

Looking down, Jaden saw that his half-medallion was glowing brightly, "What the-?!"

Alexis stopped in her tracks outside, and saw the strange light poking out of Jaden's window. Without a second thought, she darted to the dorm room.

"Jaden!" she burst into the room to see Siho and Jaden on their feet while Chumley and Syrus slept.

A cold, evil laugh filled the air as the light began to get brighter and brighter.

"What's happening?!" Alexis cried.

"I dunno!" Siho yelled, "But, bad mojo! Bad mojo!"

The laugh came again.

"What's happening, you ask?" a cold voice asked them, "The first duel is happening!"

-----

The light finally began to die down and the three of them found themselves in a large area, standing on top of a big, glowing circle.

"Where are we?" Alexis asked, looking around them. They were surrounded by a huge, circular rock wall and the air was filled with very hot air.

Jaden crawled over to the edge of the circle and his eye's widened to see a pit of bubbling lava beneath them, "I'd say a _very_ weird dream...,"

"Dude, get away from the edge," Siho grabbed Jaden by the sleeve just as something burst out of the pool of lava. The three students cried as a huge serpent, which was actually made of lava, circled the area.

"Make that a nightmare," Alexis whispered.

"It's neither...," a cold voice said as the lava-serpent crashed into the glowing circle, leaving a huge flame in it's place.

The three of them watched a figure walked out of the flames, laughing evilly.

"What's going on?!" Jaden demanded, climbing to his feet.

"You mean you don't know?" the figure asked as the flame died down. The owner of the voice was a tall young man in all black. A heavy trenchcoat was on his shoulders, a strange mask that resembled a dragon's face was on his own, dark brown hair peeking over it. Not to mention a duel disk on his arm.

Siho glared, "You can call him a slow learner, pal,"

The young man smiled as the light from the lava bounced off a ruby-like gem on his mask, "And _you_ can call me Nightshroud,"

Jaden stared at him, "_Nightshroud_?" he asked, not sure he had heard that right.

"Yes. I'll be the one taking that key you have around your neck," Nightshroud said, pointing to the golden stick Jaden wore.

"Wow," Jaden put his hands on his hips, "You guys don't waste any time do ya?"

Nightshroud held up a glowing object from his chest. Jaden saw that that the object was identical to his own pendant around his neck.

"Nice medallion," Nightshroud commented, "The Gravekeeper must be getting sloppy. But if you think you'll beat me as easy as you beat him, you have another thing coming! I'll get that key and I'll get it now," he swore, "and to make sure of it, I've brought friends,"

"What does that mean?" Siho demanded as a couple more lava serpents appeared around them, dancing amongst the molten liquid beneath their feet.

Nightshroud chuckled and waved his arm to the side, "Here. Say hello to Chumley, Syrus, Christina and Kairi!"

_NO!_ Siho grit his teeth, _Please no..._

"Jaden! Siho!"

Both Slifers turned to see a glowing orb sitting on a flat slab of rock, surrounded by three claw-like formations. Inside were their friends, still in their pajamas.

"Chrissy!" Siho screamed, "You ok?!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK, YOU BAKA?!" the female Slifer screamed back, "NEXT TIME, THINK BEFORE YOU ASK A DUMB QUESTION!"

Alexis cupped her hands over her mouth, "Just hold on, we'll get you out of there!"

"It looks like they're in hot water...or maybe I should say _hot molten lava_!" Nightshroud cackled, "But then, such is the nature of a Shadow Game, Key-Keeper,".

"Shadow Game?!" Siho and Jaden said together.

Jaden stepped up, "Listen, just duel me, and let them go!"

Nightshroud shook his head, "I don't think so. I need them to ensure a speedy match. That barrier around them is...well let's just say it wasn't built to last," he held up a card, "I'm afraid there's more...you see, I hold here in my hand, a Soul Card. The other thing at stake in this duel is _your _soul, Key-Keeper. Your soul will be sealed away in this card when you lose,".

Siho looked at the card and watched as a black aura began to swirl around it.

"Of course, if _I_ lose, my soul gets trapped in there. But c'mon, let's be honest with ourselves," Nightshroud grinned wickedly, "Me lose? No way! Now then, shall we?"

Alexis grabbed Jaden's arm, "You can't do this, Jaden!"

"He has to," Siho snapped, stepping back to join her behind Jaden, "If he doesn't everyone of our friends gets to feel what it's like to be cooked,"

Jaden nodded, "They're my friends and I won't let them become lava stew. Besides, it's not like it's my first Shadow Game or something," he placed a hand on his chest, "I just hope it doesn't hurt like the others,"

At that very moment, memories of his first Shadow Games ran through Jaden's mind. Jinzo using his Doll of Demise to cut through Jaden in a duel for his life energy and the Gravekeeper Chief squaring off against him with his own followers as his monsters.

"Ok pal," Jaden's disk whirred to life, "You wanna duel, you got one!"

"Good luck, Jaden!" Syrus yelled from the orb.

"Let us know if we can help you with something!" Chumley added.

Christina was about to yell something but stopped when she heard the sound of someone crying. She turned and saw Kairi hugging her knees, head buried in her legs.

_She's never been in a Shadow Game before, _Christina realized and looked around, _I'd freak out too if this were my first place for a Shadow Game._

She knelt down and pulled Kairi close to her, feeling her friends tears seep through her pajamas, "It's ok, Jaden's gonna get us outta here, don't worry," she promised.

"Alright, let's throwdown!" Jaden shouted, placing his deck into his disk.

Nightshroud's disk activated and the Shadow Rider followed suit.

**J: 4000  
N: 4000**

"Get your game on!" Jaden yelled as he and Nightshroud drew their hands.

"You wanna see game?" Nightshroud grinned as he drew his card and placed it on the field.

Seconds later, a small humanoid dragon with green skin and wings appeared, kneeling down with a wide, machete-like sword and a round shield.

"He's called Troop Dragon (700/800) and I'll have him defend me. Next, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Nightshroud slipped a card into his disk.

Jaden frowned, "Not bad...," he drew his card and looked at it, "But how's he gonna stand up against my dragonslayer?" he slapped the card onto his disk, "I summon the Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)!"

The large, tattooed Hero in a loincloth appeared before him, hand on the hilt of the giant sword on his back.

"Show him that sword isn't just for show, Wildheart!" Jaden pointed to the Troop Dragon, "Attack!"

Wildheard roared and ran to the dragon, pulling the sword out in the process. With a might swing, the Hero cleaved through the Troop Dragon, destroying it.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Nightshroud smiled as his monster left the field, "Troop Dragon has a special ability, an ability that allows me to summon _another _Troop Dragon when the first one is sent to the Graveyard,".

Jaden watched as an identical Dragon appeared on Nightshroud's field, taking it's predecessor's place, also in defense mode.

"Hence the name _Troop_,"

"That's right, and I'm not done yet," Nightshroud said as he drew his card, then pressed a button on his disk, "Now, I'll play my facedown card. It's called Call of the Haunted and it lets me bring back a monster from the Graveyard that was destroyed in the last turn. Such as...," he paused as his first beast came back, "the Troop Dragon!"

_This guy's got a Dragon fetish_ Siho thought as he stared at the pair of Dragons, _But something's not right. He has two weak Dragon monsters and Jaden has a good Hero on his side. He can't attack Wildheart with them unless..._ Siho's eyes widened, _He's not gonna use them for attacking!_

"Now, as a bonus, I'll sacrifice my two Troop Dragons to summon...,"

Alexis watched as the two Dragons disappeared into bits of light, "Summon _what_?"

"I got a baaaaad feeling about this," Siho murmured.

"Oh boy...," Jaden agreed.

The lava pit bubbled before another serpent made from the molten rock burst out from beneath the hot waves. The serpent roared and flew through the air, curving and twisting as it did. It let out another roar as it passed by the prisoner orb.

Chumley fell over onto his butt as the Dragon went by, then went back and test the barrier, "It's cool, guys. The protective energy's still in one piece," he stood up and knocked on the wall a few times before his hand actually went through and he almost fell into the pit.

Quickly, Chumley pulled himself back and retreated to the middle of the orb, "A smaller piece anyway...,"

Syrus looked at the hole in the wall, "It's disappearing!"

The serpent circled the duelists a few times before finally crashing down onto the energy field, just as the first one did when Nightshroud made his entrance. But instead of another person, what was created from the flames was a huge dragon. Its black scales glistening against the light of both the field and the lava pit blow. It's mighty wings flapped as it let out a ear-shattering roar and it's huge, silvery claws flexed, the tips like the sharpest needles.. As it descended onto the field, it's ruby red eyes were staring straight at Jaden.

"It can't be!" Siho gaped at the beast, "It's not possible! I thought only one of those existed!"

Nightshroud laughed as his new monster arrived, "As I was saying, with my two Troop Dragons as sacrifices, I summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!!!".

_I can't believe it. An actual Red-Eyes Black Dragon..._ Siho ran a hand through his ebony hair, _One of the most powerful Dragons in Duel Monsters! Too bad it had be used by a Shadow Rider..._

"Now, Red-Eyes Black Dragon," Nightshroud waved his arm towards the opposing monster, "Attack Wildheart with Inferno Fire Blast!"

The Dragon roared and sent a huge ball of flaming red energy flying from it's mouth. Jaden braced himself as the attack hit Wildheart dead on, obliterating him. The after-blast sent Jaden skidding across the energy field.

"Jaden!" Alexis stepped forward to help him, but Siho held her back.

"Don't," he warned, "It's his fight,"

**J: 3100  
N: 4000**

Jaden held his chest, wincing from the blow, "That...that _hurt_!"

Nightshroud nodded, "That's right and it's about to hurt a _lot_ more, Key-Keeper. Because the _true_ pain is about to begin!"

_True pain? Man, if this one guy reflects how all Shadow Riders are, they must be really into some sick stuff_ Siho thought as his face began to sweat from the heat of the lava.

"C'mon and make your move already!" Nightshroud barked impatiently, "I've got a doomsday to start!"

"Jaden!" Syrus yelled, watching his friend get back to his feet.

"Doomsday?" Chumley repeated, "But I'm too young!"

_Kick his ass, Jaden!_ Christina thought as she still held onto Kairi, glaring at the Shadow Rider.

"Sorry, Nightshroud, but the only doom that's coming around here is to your monster!" Jaden growled before drawing his next card. Looking at what he had drawn, Jaden smiled, "Sweet! I play the Spell card, Polymerization! I'll fuse my Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) and my Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) together from my hand to create the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500)!"

Jaden's heavily armored Hero jumped into a crouching position, shield in front and arm cannon at the ready.

"Even though she's in defense mode, she can still blast you with half of her attack points!" Jaden glanced at his Hero, "So go ahead and let 'im have it, Blaster!"

His Hero raised her arm cannon as her attack strength was cut by half, aiming straight for Nightshroud.

E-Hero Rampart Blaster (1000/2500)

"Don't pull any firepower!" Jaden added, "Rampart Barrage!"

Rampart Blaster fired a wave of smart missles that flew past the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and landed just inches from Nightshroud's feet.

"Yes!" Alexis whispered, happy at the successful hit.

**J: 3100  
N: 3000**

"Don't forget, Blaster's in defense mode. So to get to me...," Jaden smiled confidently, "You gotta get through _her_. Pretty sweet, don't ya think?"

Nightshroud stumbled back from the attack, panting slightly.

"Ok...," Jaden looked at Nightshroud stumbling, "Maybe not so sweet for you, but you know what I mean,"

"_Enough_!" Nightshroud yelled as he drew his next card. Through the blue glass of his mask, Nightshroud saw what he had drawn and smiled, "You fool...that Blaster doesn't change a thing. But you know what, this card I have will! It will change your Life Points, Jaden, and _not_ in a good way. You see Jaden, your Blaster can't protect you from my Red-Eyes' attack!"

Jaden looked at him and shrugged, "Alright, I'll bite. Why not?"

"Because this time, his attack is an actual card!" Nightshroud snapped, holding out the card he had just drawn, "Inferno Fire Blast!"

Jaden watched, wide-eyed as Red-Eyes fired off another fireball, this time, aiming straight for him.

"A card?" Alexis gasped.

"Jaden!" Syrus yelled out.

"Watch out!" Chumley cried.

_This is gonna hurt him..._ Siho grit his teeth.

Jaden, Alexis and Siho cried out as the ball struck their end of the energy field, flames licking at them. Even though Siho and Alexis were on the sidelines, they recieved less pain from the blast than Jaden did. Jaden was right in the middle of the inferno.

Nightshroud laughed as Jaden covered himself as best he could, "Nice card, huh? It's just as strong as my Red-Eyes' attack, the only difference is that it hits your Life Points directly!"

**J: 700  
N: 3000**

"And I'm not through with you yet, Key-Keeper, next I summon Attachment Dragon (100/100)!"

A small blue dragon with reddish wings screeched as it appeared on the Shadow Rider's field.

"Don't worry, he's not the attacking kind. Like his name suggests, he's the attaching kind," Nightshroud's smile widened, "Show him, Dragon!"

The small dragon screeched and flew into the air. Jaden looked up and saw the Dragon hovering about his Fusion monster. Attachment Dragon flew down and plucked Rampart Blaster from her defensive position, and curled it's wings and neck around her, forcing her to stand in attack mode.

"Looks like my monster's made a new friend," Nightshroud said mockingly, "As you can see, it forces her into attack mode and since she is, that means no more direct attacks!"

Chumley and Syrus pressed themselves against the barrier, watching the duel intently. They both screamed as they passed halfway through the barrier, which now had a pair of large holes in it. Both Slifers scuttled back to the center as the two holes become a big one.

"This thing is going gone-zo!" Chumley said fearfully.

"Aw man...," Syrus looked around as the lava began to bubble more and more as lava serpents continued to fly out of it and around them.

"It's so hot...," Chumley wiped his brow, "Now I know what a grilled cheese feels like!"

Christina rolled her eyes, _Idiot..._

"I don't wanna burn, I don't wanna burn, I don't wanna burn...," Kairi sobbed, pulling Christina closer, "Don't let me burn, Chrissy! Don't let me burn!"

"I won't, Kairi, I won't. Jaden will keep on fighting and while he does that, I'll make sure nothing happens to you," the long-haired Slifer promised in a whisper.

Siho coughed as the smoke from the lava wafted to the energy field, "Man...this sucks,"

"Jaden!" Alexis watched as her fellow Key-Keeper stagger, still feeling the blast.

Jaden panted, his body racked with pain from the card's effect. He glared hard at Nightshroud, hearing his friends nearby and listening to their cries for help.

"Alright, my turn!" Jaden snapped as his hand went for his deck.

_And by the rate that orb is disappearing, it might be my last chance to save my friends!_ he thought as he drew his next card, _And the world!_

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: DUN DUN DUN. The first Shadow Rider is here and already he's kickin' Jaden's butt! Hopefully, our Hero can pull through before his Slifer friends become the Roasted Reds.**

**Now, to those who have any question, lemme answer for you. In my rewrite, I'm having the three powerful cards called by their japanese names, which I am told are the Legendary Demons instead of the Sacred Beasts. As to anyone wondering about that second figure that arrived with Nightshroud, you'll see more of it in the next chapter. Til then, ja ne!**


	44. Volcanic Duel Part Two

**Volcanic Duel Part Two**

_**Last time, on GX Heroes: Jaden, Bastion, Alexis, Chazz, Doctor Crowler, Professor Banner and Zane were given the task of protecting a set of very powerful, and very dangerous cards known as the Legendary Demons from a group of evil duelists known as the Shadow Riders. They were each given a key to protect, but not even a day after getting a key, Jaden was forced into a Shadow Game with a Shadow Rider called Nightshroud. To make things worse, his friends were being held captive in a magical orb suspended above a pit of lava. Nightshroud revealed himself to be a sick duelist with a powerful dragon deck. A deck that contained the rare Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Now, Jaden's low on Life Points and with a huge dragon staring him down, things are looking bleak for our Hero.**_

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**J: 700  
****N: 3000**

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)

Rampart Blaster (2000/2500)  
Attachment Dragon (100/100)

"Go Jaden!" Syrus cheered, before slipping out of the orb's wall. Luckily, he caught himself and eased back into the center of it.

"Jaden!" Chumley yelled, "This barrier's going gone-zo fast!"

The Slifer snapped his head to his friends, his new card in his hand, "Just hang in there guys, I'll get you out!" he looked at the barrier, "Just hope it _doesn't_ come to you guys hanging in there...,"

Nightshroud laughed, "Unless you make your next move, it will. Now, do your friends a favor and make a move,"

Jaden grinned as he turned back to the Shadow Rider, "If you knew what I was packin' Nightshroud, I don't think you'd be so eager!" he slipped the new card into his disk, "I play Pot of Greed!".

As a large green pot with a smiling face on it's front appeared on his field, Jaden drew two more cards, "If that's not enough for ya, I play De-Fusion too! Now, come apart, Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster!"

His Fusion monster split apart, separating herself from the Attachment Dragon, and nearby, both Clayman and Burstinatrix appeared before Jaden.

"Now, Attachment Dragon, attach yourself to the Graveyard!"

Nightshroud growled as his Dragon disappeared from Jaden's field and appeared in his own Graveyard.

"Next from my hand, I play the Spell card Fusion Sage! This card let's me go through my deck and add a Polymerization card from my deck to my hand," Jaden fanned out his deck and plucked the card out, then put the deck back into the slot, "That means that I can fuse the Clayman on my field with the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) to create the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!"

_It's an even match, now..._ Alexis thought, looking from the new Hero monster to the Red-Eyes.

"Alright, time to see who blinks first!" Jaden grinned, "Go, Thunder Giant, attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Voltic Thunder!"

Nightshroud grit his teeth as the huge Hero began to gather electrical energy in his hands. He turned to his beast, "Go, Red-Eyes! Inferno Fire Blast!"

Red-Eyes hurled a stream of flaming red power at Thunder Giant's electric current. The two huge monsters stood there on the field, their power equally matched as they tried to win dominance in the struggle. However, the struggle was ended when both Red-Eyes and Thunder Giant burst into flames and sank through the field into the hot lava below them.

"Both destroyed?!" Nightshroud cried in disbelief.

"But what was the point?" Alexis wondered aloud.

_I don't believe this! _Siho shook his head _Why'd he do that? He could've used Thunder Giants ability to destroy the Red-Eyes, than finish off Nightshroud! Jaden, what is up with you?_

Jaden smiled, "With Red-Eyes gone, Nightshroud is directly in Burstinatrix's line of fire, and I do mean _fire_! Attack with Flare Storm!"

Burstinatrix gathered a pulsating blob of fire in her hands, then threw it at Nightshroud, the blob becoming a stream of fire as it flew towards the Shadow Rider.

**J: 700  
****N: 1800**

"Aw c'mon," Jaden watched Nightshroud lower his arms, not looking very pleased at the move, "Aren't ya at least gonna flinch? How a wince? No? Then, go with a cringe!"

"Sorry," Nightshroud smiled wickedly, "But I leave _that_ to my opponents,"

Jaden frowned as he slipped a card into his disk, "Yeah? Well, we'll see about that, Nightshroud. I play Mirage of Nightmare! With this Spell card, during your next Standby Phase, I get to draw cards from my deck until I have four in my hand!" he explained, "But then during _my_ Standby Phase, I have to randomly discard the same number of cards I drew to the Graveyard!"

"Do what makes you happy," Nightshroud hissed.

"Good. In that case, I'll throwdown one facedown and end my turn," Jaden slipped another card into his disk.

"Good, my draw!" Nightshroud drew his next card.

Jaden grinned, "Same here thanks to my Mirage of Nightmare!" he quickly drew a few more cards.

"Whatever," Nightshroud growled, "But you have to discard the same number of cards in the next turn, Jaden,"

"Actually, Nightshroud, I was thinking..._no_,"

"Hm?"

"I play the Spell card Emergency Provisions!" Jaden declared as his facedown revealed itself, "Now, all I have to do is sacrifice one Spell or Trap card on my field and I gain 1000 Life Points! So, I think I'll toss Mirage of Nightmare!"

**J: 1700  
N: 1800**

_Now Mirage's discard rule is no longer in effect!_ Alexis thought with a smile.

"So you were able to avoid _that_ Mirage's unpleasantness...," Nightshroud mused as he slapped a card onto his disk, "But you won't be avoiding _this_ one's! I summon Mirage Dragon (1600/600)!"

Seconds later, a large curved serpent with yellow scales and tufts of blue-green fur sticking out rose onto the field, growling hungrily.

"Unlike his name, his attack is _no_ illusion!" Nightshroud smirked, "Mirage Dragon, show him with Spectrum Blast!"

The new Dragon fired a stream of rainbow-colored energy from it's mouth and blasted Burstinatrix away with ease, knocking Jaden's points down a small bit.

**J: 1300  
N: 1800**

Jaden fell to one knee, feeling the physical damage of the Shadow Game. He lifted his head, wincing, "No...I won't let it end like this...,"

Nightshroud laughed, "You won't have to, Mirage Dragon will end it for you!"

Siho looked to the side to see Chumley shout something at them, but couldn't make it out. However, he could make out the integrity of the orb. He turned to his friend, "Jaden, hurry up! They don't look like they've got a lot more time left!"

"I'll end this quick then," Jaden drew his next card and glanced at it, "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!" he paused as his caped Hero appeared, "Now, I'll activat his ability! When he's the only monster on my field when I summon him, I can draw two more cards from my deck!"

He drew two more cards and grinned, sliding one into his disk, "One of which I'll use right now...Silent Doom! This lets me summon a monster back from my Graveyard to the field in defense mode, and I choose my Sparkman!"

The end of Jaden's disk opened up to reveal a tray as Sparkman came back, "Now I play the Field Spell card known as Fusion Gate!"

"What?!" Nightshroud hissed.

Jaden grinned as he placed the card into his tray and as a mass of swirling clouds appeared above them, "Oh yeah...storm's coming, and it's coming for you, Nightshroud, because now, I can fuse the Sparkman and Bubbleman on my field with the Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in my hand to create the mighty Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800)!"

From the three Heroes, came the Hero with gold and blue armor, green wings and a visor with a blaster appeared on the field.

"Now, Tempest, attack that Mirage Dragon with Glider Strike!"

Mirage Dragon screeched as it's body was wrapped with the blue flame that Tempest shot forth from his blaster turret.

Nightshroud staggered around, feeling the pain his monster did as it was sent to the Graveyard.

**J: 1300  
N: 600**

"_There's_ that flinch I was looking for!"

"No it wasn't!" Nightshroud said quickly, regaining his form, "It wasn't a flinch, that was a twitch! It's not the same!"

Jaden shrugged, "Hey, call it what you want, but there's one thing you can't deny. I'm winning this Shadow Duel now, Nightshroud!" he slipped a card into his disk, "I think I'll leave you with that thought and this facedown,"

"You chump," Nightshroud drew his next card and looked down at it, "Life Points don't decide who wins a duel, it's the cards you play. If you don't believe me...," he held up the one he just drew, "allow me to show you with this very card!"

"Yeah right, I bet that you're just bluffing!" Jaden said dismissively.

_Uh, Jaden...not a good idea to try and piss off the Shadow Rider_ Siho thought, then looked down at the lava, _Especially the one who put us here in the first place!_

Moments later, a small group of lava-dragons rose from the pit below, the molten rock dripping off of their bodies as they roared and growled behind their master.

"Ok...maybe not," Jaden murmured.

"Did you honestly think Key-Keeper...that you can get rid of my Dragons so easily?" Nightshroud asked slowly, "That you can simply banish them all to the Graveyard, then just say goodbye to them?!"

Jaden gulped, "That's what I was kinda hoping for...,"

"Well, you're going to have to keep on hoping...," Nightshroud placed the card he drew onto the disk, "because now I summon the Red-Eyes Black Chick (800/500)!"

From out of the pit of lava, a small red egg appeared on the field. Seconds later after it's arrival, something cracked the shell from within and a small hole was made by the thing lurking inside. It's glowing red eyes glaring at Jaden.

"So then..._that's_ your big card?" Jaden asked, pointing to the egg.

"That's right," Nightshroud nodded, "Until I use Chick's special ability that is. You see, by sending him to the Graveyard, from my hand I can summon his daddy...the full-grown Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The egg disappeared in a wall of fire and from that, another Red-Eyes Black Dragon was born, wings outstretched.

"Actually, that's not true," Nightshroud smiled a bit, "As big as _this_ Red-Eyes is, it can get bigger! Red-Eyes, I now sacrifice you to summon...," he watched as his Red-Eyes dove through the field and disappeared into the lava pit, "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (2400/2000)!!!"

The pool of lava began to bubble and shake violently as something began to stir from beneath the duelists feet.

"As the molten ashes of my fallen Dragons boil up from their fiery graves, ablaze with new life, each one gives Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon 300 more attack points!"

Siho looked at his hands, "Two Troop Dragons, a Mirage Dragon, an Attachment Dragon, a Red-Eyes Black Chick, and his two Red-Eyes Black Dragons...," he looked up as the molten dragons disappeared, leaving one huge one, "...dude...,"

Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (4500/2000)

"4500 attack points? He can't withstand that!" Alexis gasped.

The final lava Dragon soon lost it's magmic outer shell and gained a shiny black form. It looked like the original Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but this one had golden stripes along it's body and head, as well as six strange wings on it's back.

"It's over! The Spirit Key, your friends, your soul...," Nightshroud laughed triumphantly, "Thanks to Darkness Dragon's attack, they're all mine! Go, Red-Eyes, attack with Inferno Dark Fire! END THIS!"

Everyone looked away as a stream of darkened flames sped towards Jaden and his Hero Tempest. However, Jaden didn't flinch at all.

"I don't think so, Nightshroud! I play a Trap! Go, Negate Attack!"

"What the?!" Nightshroud watched as his attack was stopped by a barrier of green light surrounding Tempest.

"That's right! You're attack's been canceled!" Jaden said with a smirk, "Now, Negate Attack also ends your Battle Phase, so you can't attack for the rest of this turn!"

Nightshroud exhaled loudly, "Fine...I'll just finish you off next turn,"

**------**

As the Shadow Game went on, Zane stood out at the lighthouse dock, gazing out at the sea. A light shaking on his chest made him reach down and take his Spirit Key into his hands. He looked at it, then looked out at the island.

"Something's a miss," he thought aloud, eyes moving toward the volcano behind the Academy, hands tightening around the key, "A Shadow Rider...this Key is telling me that one is close,"

"Zane!"

The Kaiser looked away from the volcano and saw Jordan running up to him. The Ra stopped and doubled over panting.

"Jordan, what's the matter?"

"Alexis...it's Alexis,"

Zane scowled, "What happened to her?" he asked quickly, but in a kind tone.

Jordan looked up at him, face red from running, "I dunno! She was gonna go tell Jaden something and then go back to her dorm, but I just called her friends. She's not at her dorm and I've checked the Slifer Dorm. She's not there and neither is Jaden or anyone from their group!"

"Oh no...," Zane looked back up at the volcano, "It's started. Damn!"

-----

Zane wasn't the only one feeling his Key react to the presence of a Shadow Rider. Bastion stopped typing on his computer and looked down, startled as he felt his key vibrate against his chest.

"The Spirit Gate Key! It's shaking! But that would mean...,"

-----

Chazz glared at the little Duel Spirit who was currently shaking it's scantily clad behind at his face.

"I'm warning you, stop dancing now!" he snapped.

Ojama Yellow pouted and continued to shake his money-maker, "Sorry, Boss. I'm just trying to stay in rhythm with that Spirt Key!"

"Actually...," Chazz bolted upright, making Ojama fly off to the side, "What _is_ that trembling?".

He looked down and grabbed the Key, staring at it as it continued to vibrate.

------

The only Key-Keeper who didn't seem disturbed by the shaking of the Key, or even noticed the Key, was Doctor Crowler, who was peacefully sleeping in his room. His bed large and frilly comforter blanket over him while he wore a sleep mask and a nightcap.

**(Author's Note: If a major clue was needed to prove that Crowler was gay...)**

-----

Banner and Pharaoh stared at the volcano in front of them. The Slifer Headmaster held the furry fat cat in his arms while his own Spirit Key was wrapped around his hand. He had a feeling what was going on, as did the others, but wasn't quite sure who was in the middle of it.

"Hmm...,"

-----

_What were you **thinking**, Shephard?! Getting your students involved in a battle with such stakes...but then, what other choice did you have? After all, if those Shadow Riders get a hold of the Legendary Demon cards..._

Shephard lifted his head from his desk, a solemn look on his face, "...then they'll be destroyed no matter what. We all will!"

-----

"Alright, my turn!" Jaden drew his next card, "First off, I summon Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in defense mode, then I'll switch my Tempest into defense mode as well. Then I'll call it a turn," he said as both his mech-hound and his Hero went down into crouches.

Nightshroud laughed, "That's funny. You know what I call it? A waste of time, and time, in case you forgot is of the essence for your friends!" he turned to the captives within the magic orb, "They're about to be deep-fried!"

Syrus and Chumley held onto each other while Christina tried her best to keep Kairi from going more nuts.

"Don't listen to him, Jaden!" Syrus encouraged, "Just focus on winning the duel!"

"Deep fried?" Chumley looked at the lava surrounding them, "I'll never look at a french fry the same way again...although I'll still eat them,"

Alexis looked at the prisoners, "Jaden, hurry up!" she urged.

"Yeah...," Jaden nodded, "That lava is starting to look really restless!"

"La dee dah, what to do, what to do?" Nightshroud pondered loudly.

Jaden turned and glared at him, "How about you make your move?!"

"Oh, that's right! It's my turn...sorry," the Shadow Rider chuckled as he drew his next card, then placed it on the disk, "Now, I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode,"

Siho raised an eyebrow as a portly blue and green scaled dragon with leathery wings and a long, sharp beak appeared on the field.

"Anyone think that's a Ridley-ripoff from Metroid?"

Alexis slapped him upside the head, "Now's not the time, Siho!"

"Now, Spear Dragon, give that Wroughtweiler something to chew on!" Nightshroud ordered, pointing to the mecha-dog, "Attack with Cyclone Blast!"

Spear Dragon screeched and fired a beam of bright green energy at Wroughtweiler, blowing it away easily from the field.

Jaden coughed as the smoke from his monster floated directly at him, "Wroughtweiler doesn't roll over that easy! When he's sent to the Graveyard, I can take a Polymerization and an Elemental Hero from my Graveyard to my hand!"

Suddenly, Jaden fell to one knee again, crying in pain as the beam of energy cut through him, knocking his Life Points away.

**J: 600****  
N: 600**

Nightshroud laughed again, "Don't get ahead of yourself! When Spear Dragon attacks a monster in defense mode, and his attack points are higher than the defense of the monster, the difference in points is dealt to you as damage!" he explained, enjoying every bit of Jaden's pain as his Dragon wrapped itself with it's own wings, "However, as you can see, after he attacks, Spear Dragon must go into defense mode,"

Jaden lifted his head, glaring at him.

"As for your Tempest as his special ability...," Nightshroud looked at the Hero, "Since you can save him from being destroyed in battle by sending one card from your field to your Graveyard," he held up another card, "I'll get rid of that card! I play Mystical Space Typhoon on your Fusion Gate Field Spell card!"

Jaden gasped as a blast of wind knocked his Field card out of his disk tray, causing the mass of swirling clouds above them all disappear.

"Now, Key-Keeper, just try saving your Tempest! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack with Inferno Dark Fire!"

Another blast of blackened flames burst out of the Dragon's mouth and engulfed the Hero, burning him alive. The blast from the attack sent such a strong wind at the other three on the field, Siho was pushed off the edge.

But inches from being a roasted Slifer, Siho stopped falling. He looked up to see Alexis laying on the field, her hands holding his arm tightly.

"Damn, you're strong, Rhodes!"

Alexis smiled and eased herself and Siho back onto the energy field.

The Slifer looked back and shuddered, "Man...I owe you one, Lex,"

"It's your move, Key-Keeper...that is, if you still have the strength to go on!"

Alexis and Siho turned to see Jaden fall, sprawled along the energy field.

"Jaden!"

"No!"

Alexis turned to Nightshroud, "That's enough!" she shouted, looking very pissed off, "This duel is over!"

The Shadow Rider looked at her, "Says _who_?"

"Says me and this!" Alexis held up her key, "I also have a Spirit Gate Key. Let my friends go and I'll let you duel me for it, and have my soul either way!" she offered.

Nightshroud stared at her intently, his brow furrowing behind his mask,_ I know you..._

"You can't lose, so let them go and deal with me!" Alexis pressured, stepping forward.

"...no...," Jaden slowly pushed himself off the field and climbed to his feet, "I won't let you, Alexis! After all...," he lifted his head, a large smile on his face, "I'm about to win this!"

Alexis stared at Jaden, then looked at Siho, "He's delirious...,"

"Mhm," the other Slifer nodded, "Sure sounds like it!"

"No, I'm not! What I am...is about to get my game on!" Jaden cried as he drew his next card.

"YOU BETTER HURRY!"

Jaden turned to see the orb that held his friends was being splashed with hot lava, his friends cowering and screaming as they tried not to be burned alive.

_Alright, it's now or never_ Jaden turned back to his opponent, "I summon the Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)!"

With a battle-cry, his tattooed Hero came to his aid once more on his side of the field.

"Next, I play the Spell card, Wild Half from my hand!" Jaden declared, holding a card that had a large wolf as an image, "Now, Wild Half is gonna cut your monster in half! See, what it does is take the original attack points of your Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and splits it by summoning two monster tokens, each one with the same attack points on the field!"

Red-Eyes Token #1 (3300/2000)  
Red-Eyes Token #2 (3300/2000)  
Spear Dragon DEF (1900/0)

Alexis frowned, "But because of all the Dragons in Nightshrouds Graveyard, both monsters still have 3300 attack points each!"

"I'm gettin' to that, Lex!" Jaden held up another card, "Now I play the Spell card, Polymerization! I'll fuse my Wildheart and my Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/2200) from my hand to create the Elemental Hero Wildedge (2600/2300)!"

From the golden armored Hero and the wild haired Hero, came a Hero that had most of Wildheart's body and features, but wore a golden helmet with matching leg and arm guards, long curved spikes on the arm.

"One of the things that puts him on the edge of being wild, is that he can attack every single one of your monsters!"

Nightshroud smiled, "You just go on ahead and do that then," he challenged, "He still has less attack points than my Dragons!"

"_Again_ with the attack points!" Jaden sighed, "I guess it's time I finally come to that issue, huh? Or better yet, let Skyscraper do it for me!"

Nightshroud's face turned to shock.

"That's right!" Jaden placed another card into his end-tray, "I play the Field Spell card called Skyscraper!"

The volcano shook again as tall buildings erupted from the lava, sending bits of the molten liquid everywhere. Luckily, none of the bystanders were touched by any of it.

"And once Wildedge is done with your Dragons, you'll be scraping them off the pavement, because here...," Jaden gestured to the buildings, "Elemental Heroes gain 1000 attack points!"

Nightshroud stepped back, gawking at him, "No way!"

E-Hero Wildedge (3600/2300)

"Impossible!" the Shadow Rider yelled.

"Alright!" Alexis whooped.

Siho punched the air, "Hot damn!"

"Go, Wildedge! Attack the Red-Eyes Dragons and Spear Dragon with Scimitar Slash!"

The half-naked Hero roared and held out his golden arm, sending two curved blades flying into the Red-Eyes Tokens. The scimitars slashed through the Dragons, cleaving them to pieces with ease. To finish it off, Wildedge ran towards the Spear Dragon, pulling out a huge serrated sword from his back, then sliced through it like a hot knife through butter.

"That's game!" Jaden said triumphantly as his Hero returned.

Nightshroud grabbed his head, screaming as the surrounding buildings disappeared.

**J: 600  
N: 0**

The defeated Shadow Rider fell over, then was engulfed in a ring of flame, screaming as the fire licked at him.

"Syrus...guys...," Jaden whispered before falling down as well.

"Jaden!" Alexis and Siho ran to their friend as fire erupted from beneath them.

As they reached Jaden, they too were surrounded by the searing flames. As their screams filled the night sky, the Slifers, the Shadow Rider, and the prisoners disappeared into flashes of light.

------

Christina slowly sat up, rubbing her head. She looked around, finding herself outside at the base of the volcano.

"We're alive! We're alive!"

The long-haired Slifer turned around to see Syrus and Chumley nearby. Kairi lay a few feet away. Christina rushed to her friends side to see that her roommate was passed out, skin completely covered by sweat from the lava.

_Thank God...she's just passed out_ Christina thought, relieved that Kairi would be just fine.

"Where's Jaden?!"

Christina turned to see Alexis was on her feet while Siho was coming around as well. Jaden lay a short distance away, the form of Nightshroud just above him by a few feet.

Siho limped over to Jaden as Chumley, Syrus and Alexis tailed behind him.

"Is he ok? He's not moving!" Syrus squeaked.

Siho checked the boy's pulse, then looked at them over his shoulder, "He's alive! Just tired as hell...then again, who could blame him after all he just went through?"

"So he's ok...," Alexis sighed in relief, glancing towards a card near Jaden's hand. She took the card and turned it over to see the image of the card turn from black to that of a dragon-mask in front of chains, "Which is more than I can say for Nightshroud. At least we'll be safe from him for now...,"

Looking ahead, she walked towards the other unmoving form nearby. The young man was lying on his stomach, his face hidden by his hair and arms. She knelt down as the Shadow Rider began to stir. Grunting, he opened one eye and looked straight at her.

"...uh...Alexis...,"

Alexis gasped, "It...can't be!". She stared at the teen, not wanting to believe what she had just heard as tears began to swell in her eyes.

"Jaden, hold on! We're coming!"

Siho and his fellow Slifers turned to see Chazz, Bastion, Zane and Jordan running up to them.

"What happened?" Chazz demanded as they reached him.

Syrus looked away from his best friend, "One of the Shadow Riders challenged Jaden to a duel!"

Chazz looked at Jaden's unconcious body, "So, did he win?!"

Chumley nodded, "He sure did! You guys missed an awesome battle! It had Dragons, lava, and some talk about french fries!"

Zane turned to Alexis' direction, glaring at the form she was with, "So, is that him?" he asked, walking over to them, Jordan following behind him. Jordan didn't have a very happy look on his face.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard if he did anything to Lex," he growled, cracking his knuckles.

As the two of them approached, they were both surprised to see Alexis crying, hugging the body close to her.

"Alexis?!" Zane stared at her, eyes wide.

"Lex, what the hell are you doing?!" Jordan snapped.

Alexis sniffed and turned to them both, "Guys...it's him! It's really him! I don't understand how, but it's him! I thought we had lost him, but he's back...he's finally back!" she sobbed.

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked carefully, "_Who's_ back?"

"Look at his face!" Alexis pleaded, moving away from the body to show them better, "It's my brother!"

Zane's eyes went wide and Jordan went pale, his arms falling limp at his sides. The Ra was silent as he looked on at the tall boy with dark brown hair. The same boy that was in the photo in the abandoned dorm so long ago.

"Atticus...?!" Zane muttered.

The others came up behind them, Jaden being carried by Chumley and Siho carrying Kairi.

"It wasn't him before," Alexis sniffed again, "Whatever darkness had a hold on him, that card took it away!"

The sun began to peek over the horizon, lighting up the area. Zane looked at Atticus who lay in his sisters arms while Jordan just stood there silently. Then, he looked back at Jaden who was passed out on Chumley's shoulders.

"If this is how it is when you win a Shadow Game with the Shadow Riders, just think what it'd be like if you lose. The sun may be rising now, but it will fall again soon and when it does...we must be ready!"

-----

A short distance away, the shorter figure that had arrived with Nightshroud a few nights before stood, watching the group.

"...he's failed," she murmured as wind blew her silvery hair in front of her face, "No matter. The others will make up for it," she pulled out a dark purple crystal that hung from a black chain.

The crystal glowed, making her smile darkly.

"The Shadow Riders will take control of the Legendary Demons...but Cocytus will take care of the other target,"

With a sinister laugh, the figure looked back at the group, "I'll make sure of it!"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: WHEW! The first Shadow Rider is beaten and it's Alexis' and Jordan's long lost brother/cousin! Now, a new mystery comes. What is Cocytus and what is their target? Find out some answers in the next chapter! Til then, ja ne!**


	45. Cocytus: Spellcaster Caina

**Cocytus: Spellcaster Caina**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: Ok ya'll. Time for some new villainy action! We know who the second Shadow Rider is, but let's see who these Cocytus people are before going to the Riders again, shall we?**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Nightshroud has been defeated...,"

"Are you positive, sister?"

"Of course, brother, you don't think I'd be mistaken in a situation like this, do you?"

"Hahaha...she's got a point. You do know she hasn't led us wrong yet,"

"Shut up, you! Sister, if Nightshroud has been beaten, then what do you suggest we do?"

"Why, my dear brother, I've flattered that the leader of our little group asks for my ideas. Personally, I'd say we go around taking souls of our own as we please, but _our_ mission is still clear. We must find the Vessel,"

"What if the Vessel does not wish to come along peacefully?"

"It's very simple, my large friend...we force the Vessel to come with us one way or another,"

-----

_The first of the seven Shadow Riders have come and was defeated by Jaden...but due to the stress in the Shadow Game between him and Nightshroud, Jaden became exhausted and now he's out of it in the school's infirmary..._

Siho walked through the halls of the Academy, the memories of the recent duel still fresh in his mind. He stopped at the Infirmary door and peeked in, wanting to see how his friends were. Jaden was still asleep on his bed while Syrus stayed by his side. Looking to the side, Siho saw that both Atticus Rhodes and Kairi were out of it as well. Jordan and Alexis at their relative's side while Kristerr and Christina stayed at Kairi's side.

_Seeing how these guys play, and the consequences of a duel that come with them, I know now that I have to do what I can to protect my friends. I don't care if I wasn't give a Spirit Key, but that won't stop me. No matter what what anyone says or tries to do to stop me, I'll risk my life to make sure not another one of my friends are harmed..._

Suddenly, Siho felt something heavy on his shoulder. He whirled around, fists raised.

"Whoa, dude...chill," Vahn greeted, backing away, "Jeez, you're jumpy, Zolaro,"

Siho sighed in relief, then slugged Vahn in the shoulder, "Don't sneak up on people man...it's not a good thing to do right now,"

"You mean because of the Shadow Riders?" Vahn asked, then watched as a surprised look came to Siho's face, "Zane told me everything. I'm glad one of those freaks are gone...too bad Hero boy is down for now, eh?"

Nodding, Siho turned back to look into the Infirmary, "Not to mention my friend's roommate and Rhodes' kin...," he murmured.

Vahn shook his head and whistled low, "Well, at least Lumina's condition ain't as serious as the other two. From what I heard from Zane, she just had too much exposure to the heat of the island's volcano...she'll be just fine as her body returns to it's normal level of body heat. Until then, she just has to be kept cool and rest,"

"What about Jaden and Atticus?"

The Obelisk shrugged, "I dunno...I guess they'll wake up when they're meant to. However, with those freaks still out there, Jaden will be in bigger danger now that he's not fit to fight anyone...,"

_I know...that's why I'm not gonna anyone from that group come anywhere near this place!_

-----

"You _what_?"

Shephard and the other Key-Keepers stared at Siho, the Slifer standing calmly before them, arms crossed.

"I said...let me be a substitute Key-Keeper," Siho said slowly, "I know that a Key can't be taken except in a duel, and Jaden is not fit to duel anyone, should another Shadow Rider come. Until he is fully recovered, I ask of you and the rest to let me bear his Spirit Key. When he is ready to fight again, I'll give it back," he offered.

Crowler scoffed, "Please, as if _another_ Slifer Red Slacker will make a difference!"

"Siho, I appreciate your enthusiasm to help us out, but...," Shephard shook his head, "The seven protectors of the Spirt Gates have been chosen, and I'm afraid that we cannot change the roster,"

Siho scowled, "Why not? All it is is having a piece of jewelry around your neck, and trying to kick the ass of a side-show freak with a deck in a game of Duel Monsters!"

"The answer is _no_, Siho," Banner said firmly, "I'm sorry, but as much help as you could be, I must agree with Chancellor Shephard. The discussion is over...," he walked up to the Slifer and placed a hand on his head, "Now please, go home. Get some sleep and leave this to us,"

Siho could only glare at him and Shephard through his bangs before turning around and leaving the office.

Crowler huffed, "Such disrespect! Sir," he turned to his boss, "Surely, some punishment must be dealt for his rude behavior towards us all! We are here trying to save the world and he throws a tantrum because he can't join in on the fun!"

"Yeah...," Chazz nodded, "That kid's a freak...,"

"Chazz...," Banner glanced at his student.

"What, he is!"

-----

Siho walked up the stairs of the Slifer Dorm later that night, having spent most of his time during the day looking around for anyone or anything that was out of the ordinary. If they wouldn't let him become a Key-Keeper, than he could at least be their eyes and ears.

He yawned as he unlocked his door, "Nothing...man, this is harder than I thought,".

As soon as he turned the doorknob, his door burst open and something flew at him. Screaming, Siho stumbled backward and fell over the railing. With a loud thud, he landed hard on his back, sending a cloud of dirt upward.

"Ow...," Siho coughed and rolled over slowly, "What the hell...?"

"I've been waiting for the owner of that room to show up. I've been meaning to thank them for letting me crash there for a bit,".

Siho turned around to see someone standing not too far away from him. It was a young woman with short silvery hair that went down to her chin, and cold, steel-blue eyes. She wore a large, black shiny trenchoat and a duel disk on her arm.

"Who the hell are you?" Siho grunted, looking at her clothes, "Duelist or a dominatrix?"

The girl chuckled, "Nice one...although your right on both counts,"

"Dude...that's kinky,"

"Not like _that_!" the girl snapped at him, but quickly regained her composure. She smiled a sickening sweet smile and bowed as if she were a performing actor who just finished a play, "I'm the Mistress of Magicians. Cocytus Squad member, Caina!"

_Cocytus? Caina? Where have I heard that before?_ Siho's eyes wandered to her duel disk and saw that it was covered in black paint, the deck area labeled with both a capital C and the number one.

"You're not the one who beat Nightshroud...,"

Siho snapped his head back up at the mention of the name, _Aw man..._

Caina looked at him, "Nope...not him, but still, I think you'd be a good first victim,"

"What do you mean?" Siho asked, deciding to play dumb.

The silver haired girl wagged a finger, "Now now, I know you know all about us...our rather, all about my comrades. The Shadow Riders?"

"So you're one of those freaks?"

"Eh...," Caina shrugged casually, "You could say that I'm part of another group that belongs to the Shadow Riders,"

"Is that so? Well then, I guess you're after the Legendary Demon cards, huh?"

"Nope,"

Siho blinked, "Say what?" he asked, confused.

Caina shrugged again, "We were ordered to leave the Demon cards to the Seven while we take on another target. Now, c'mon let's get this over with,"

"Sorry," Siho looked around, "But if you're wanting to duel me, I ain't got my disk with me. Looks like you're gonna have to find another guy. I do know some people who'd _love_ get to their hands on a Shadow Rider though...,"

Caina looked at him, then snapped her fingers. An academy duel disk popped out of thin air and landed into Siho's arms.

"There...now let's go,"

_She means business...guess I got what I wanted after all_ Siho thought as he inserted his deck into his disk after slipping the device onto his arm, _May not be a Key-Keeper, but at least I can help by taking out this chick._

"Let's duel!" they both yelled as their disks whirred to life, and drawing their hands.

**C: 4000  
S: 4000**

"Ladies first!" Caina drew her sixth card, "First, I summon the Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode," she paused as a man in dark robes with a short staff appeared before her, two large orbs on his shoulders and a large orb on his staff, "Next, I place two cards facedown and end my turn,"

Siho drew his card, "First, I place three cards facedown, then I summon Zombyra the Dark (2100/500) in attack mode!".

His bone armored warrior appeared between him and the magician.

"Now, I play the Spell Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards!" he drew his two cards as one of the orbs on the Skilled Dark Magician began to glow. He then slipped a card into his end-tray, "Next, I activate the Field Spell known as Mystic Plasma Zone!".

The sky above them changed into a bright purplish cloud swirl as blue bolts of energy illuminated the area. Another orb on the Skilled Dark Magician was lit.

"Thanks to Mystic Plasma Zone, all Dark-Attribute monsters gain 500 attack points, but they lose 400 defense points,"

Skilled Dark Magician (2400/1300)

Zombyra the Dark (2600/100)

"Zombyra, attack that Skilled Dark Magician now!" Siho ordered, pointing to the Spellcaster.

Caina smiled as the opposing monster came towards her own, "Activate facedown card, Spellbinding Circle!".

A strange symbol with archaic markings appeared out of nowhere and ensnared Zombyra in his place, stopping the attack.

"Spellbinding Circle is a powerful Trap card," Caina explained, seeing Siho's annoyed look, "This very handy card stops a monster from attacking one of my monsters and for the rest of the duel, you can't attack with the trapped monster,"

Siho growled, "Dammit...I end my turn,"

Caina giggled as she drew her next card.

"Hang on, just a sec!" Siho pressed a button on his disk, "I got my own Trap card called Jar of Greed! With this, I can draw one card from my deck,"

"Fine fine...," Caina looked at her hand as Siho added his own card, "Now, I play a Spell called Gather Your Mind. This card allows me to take another copy of Gather Your Mind and add it to my hand, then I shuffle my deck,"

Siho frowned as she did so, "What was the point of all _that_?"

"Well besides me getting a chance of getting better cards in future turns...," Caina looked at her Skilled Dark Magician who now had three glowing orbs on his body, "I can now activate my Magician's effect. When he has a total number of three magic tokens on his body, like he does now, I can sacrifice him to summon a more powerful monster from either my deck, hand or Graveyard!"

_More powerful monster? Damn..._ Siho looked at his Zombyra,_ C'mon, don't fail me now._

"I sacrifice my Skilled Dark Magician as well as his tokens in order to summon one of the most powerful Spellcaster monsters in the world! The Dark Magician (2500/2100)!"

Siho watched as the Skilled Magician disappeared and in his place, a familiar Spellcaster appeared, but this wasn't the same kind of Dark Magician he had seen in Yugi's deck that one time. This Dark Magician had a dark red and black robe while it had orange skin and white hair.

"The hell...what kind of Dark Magician is _that_?"

Caina looked at her monster fondly, "This is a Dark Magician that once belonged to my mentor. He took me under his wing many years ago. Sadly, he was defeated by a certain King of Games and our Master sent him to the Shadows,"

"...you mean Arcana, the guy who Yugi first used a Dark Magician Girl against, right?"

The female duelist glared at him, "Yes! Arcana, the greatest Spellcaster duelist of our time! I first met him when I was under the order of Marik Ishtar, the former leader of the Rare Hunters. Even though I was under Marik's command, I still needed a deck to use during my stay with them. I loved the Spellcasters, since they reminded me of the magic shows I used to watch as a little girl with my brother. Marik placed me with Arcana, in hopes that he and I will become one of the most powerful pairs of Hunters!"

"But...Arcana ended up losing to Yugi Motou and now you're using a monster that he abused," Siho finished.

"Shut your damn mouth, punk!" Caina shrieked, "I play my mentor's monster in honor of his memory!" she seethed, "Now, back to the duel. Thanks to Mystic Plasma Zone, my Magician gains 500 attack points!"

Dark Magician (3000/1700)

"Next, I play a Spell card called Thousand Knives! This card can only be played when a Dark Magician is on the field, and when activated, it can destroy one monster on the field!" Caina pointed to the Warrior, "Say goodbye, Zombyra!".

Siho looked away as his monster screamed in pain before becoming a cloud of smoke.

"Dark Magician, attack his Life Points directly with Dark Magic Attack!"

The Slifer watched as the red-robed Dark Magician aimed his staff directly at him, an orb of energy crackling at the tip of his staff. Seconds later, the orb was launched at a high speed towards Siho's body.

Siho screamed as he was blasted back into a nearby wall of the dorm building. He slid down the wall onto his rear end, slumped against the wall.

**C: 4000  
S: 1000**

_Dammit...that hurt! Now I know how Jaden felt against Nightshroud..._ Siho grunted and lifted his head to see Caina smiling from ear to ear.

"Aw, come on, little boy. Playtime's not over, I wanna enjoy taking your soul!"

Siho pushed off against the wall and walked back to the field, bangs hanging over his eyes, "You're gonna pay for that, you bitch," he hissed.

Caina rolled her eyes, "Please...just take your turn so I can end your misery,"

"If you wish!" Siho drew his next card, "Now, I activate another Trap card known as Reckless Greed! This card lets me draw two more cards, but in exchange, I gotta give up my next two Draw Phases!"

He drew his new cards and smiled, "Nice," he slipped a card into his disk, "I play the Spell known as Card Destruction! Now, we both discard our hands and draw the same number of cards that we discarded from our deck. I get five...," Siho tossed and drew his own as Caina did hers, "And you get four,"

Siho grinned more and more as he looked at his new hand, "Time for a comeback,"

Caina raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"

The Slifer slid a card into his disk, "First, I play the Spell card Call of the Mummy! As long as there are no monsters on my field, like now, I can Special Summon a Zombie-Type monster from my hand, no matter the level. So, I now summon Shadow Ghoul (1600/1300)!"

With a sicking shrill clicking sound, a dark green monster with thin dark limbs and eight blood-red eyes appeared in front of Siho.

"That's not all, I summon two more monsters,"

"You can't summon _two_ more!" Caina argued, "You can only Normal Summon one more monster!"

Siho slowly shook his head, a creepy smile on his face, "I know. But there's no rule as to how many monsters I can Special Summon in one turn. I have a monster in my hand that will help me out no matter what you do!"

"What is it?!"

"I remove from my Graveyard, three Fiend-Type monsters. I remove Earl of Demise (2000/700), Lesser Fiend (2100/1000), and Dragon Seeker (2000/2100) in order to summon one of my decks most powerful monsters...Dark Necrofear (2200/2800)!!"

A vortex opened up at Siho's feet and a woman with pale-blue skin, bald head, and dark armor floated up alongside Shadow Ghoul, a dark aura circling around her.

"Finally, I Normal Summon from my hand, Dark Jeroid (1200/1500),"

On the other side of Shadow Ghoul, Dark Jeroid appeared, looking like a bizarre blue centaur with the head below the torso instead of ontop of it. Insect-like legs poking out of every possible side of the torso.

"Every single one of my monsters are of the Dark-Attribute, so that means they get the power bonus from my Mystic Plasma Zone!"

Dark Jeroid (1700/1100)  
Dark Necrofear (2600/2400)  
Shadow Ghoul (2000/900)

"Also, for every monster in my Graveyard, Shadow Ghoul gains an extra 100 attack points...," Siho looked into his Graveyard, "I count three monsters, so that means 300 more points,"

Shadow Ghoul (2300/900)

Caina stared at the monsters, and smiled, "Idiot...you may have some strong monsters out, but they don't live up to my Magician!" she pointed out.

Siho wagged a finger, "So naive. I activate Dark Jeroid's ability! When he's Normal Summon, Flip Summoned or Special Summoned to the field, I can choose a monster on the field and decrease it's attack strength by 800 points," the Slifer pointed to the Spellcaster, "So your Magician now loses 800 attack points!"

Dark Magician (2200/1700)

"Shadow Ghoul, attack Dark Magician now with Shadow Slice!"

Caina watched in horror as her Magician was pounced on by the Zombie monster, it's claws ripping at it's robes. She cried out in pain as her monster was destroyed and fell to her knees.

**C: 3900  
S: 1000**

"Dark Necrofear, attack her directly!"

Caina looked up as the blue-skinned monster hovered over to her. The female Fiend shot her hand through Caina's chest, making the duelist gasp in pain as she twisted her hands around inside.

**C: 1300  
S: 1000**

"I'll end my turn there," Siho said quietly as his monster hovered back to his side.

_I didn't want to bring out the big guns, but with a comrade of the Shadow Riders as my opponent, I gotta play what I can when I get the chance!_

Caina staggered to her feet and drew her card, then pressed a button on her duel disk, "I play my facedown Spell card known as Dark Magic Curtain! I give up half of my Life Points to summon back my Dark Magician!"

**C: 650  
S: 1000**

Siho watched calmly as the dark-robed Spellcaster arose from the grave, _It won't matter...just go and attack the monster I know you're gonna attack._

"Dark Magician, attack Dark Necrofear with Dark Magic Attack!" Caina ordered, pointing to the female Fiend.

Dark Magician (3000/1700)  
Dark Necrofear (2600/2400)

Dark Necrofear let out an unholy wail as she disappeared into a fiery blaze that surrounded her. The wail lasted a bit longer even as she disappeared from Siho's field.

**C: 650  
S: 600**

"My turn...," Siho looked down at his only card in his hand, unable to draw from his hand thanks to Reckless Greed. He looked up at Caina and smiled, "Dark Magician...," he pointed at the girl, "Finish this!"

Caina looked at him, blinked a few times then laughed hard, holding her sides.

"You idiot!" she gasped, "Dark Magician is _my_ monster, not yours! Are you losing IQ points as well as Life Points?"

Siho shook his head, "Nope...I'm just activating Necrofears ability,"

"What ability?"

"Necrofear, when destroyed, becomes an equipped card and attaches itself to the monster that destroyed her in battle. So that means...," Siho watched as the Dark Magician turned against Caina, staff pointed at her, "Dark Magician is under her control, and mine!"

Caina watched in horror as the blue-skinned Fiend appeared behind Dark Magician, hands wrapping around the Spellcasters shoulders, whispering something in his ear.

"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" Siho roared.

The silver-haired Mistress of Magicians screamed as an orb of black energy knocked her to the ground, destroying what was left of her points.

**C: 0  
S: 600**

After the disks were deactivated, Siho walked over and rolled Caina over onto her back with the use of his foot. He knelt down and grabbed her by the collar, "Now you listen to me, Caina...I know the rules of a Shadow Game..._all _the rules. I won't invoke the rule to take your soul since you lost, but I do want something from you,"

Caina glared daggers up at him, "What is it?"

"I want you to tell all those other freaks that you work with and tell them if they want my friends, they should watch out for me and anyone else who wants to protect them,"

Caina nodded and seconds later, she sank into the ground. Siho looked around, empty-handed. Sighing, he got to his feet and looked at his deck.

_I hate using Dark Necrofear, given what I've heard about this particular card...but I gotta admit, it just saved my ass. Maybe it's worth keeping after all..._

As Siho walked back to his room, he didn't notice a purple light shining in his blazer pocket, and he also didn't notice that he was being watched.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Wow...that was...surprising! Not only is there another group of Shadow Riders, but Siho just took one down! What else is in store for our Dark Prince, as well as the Key-Keepers? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Hope this was good, ja ne!**


	46. Duel With a Vampire Part One

**Duel With A Vampire Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_On a dark lake, as a crescent moon hung in the air, a long boat drifted across dark waters covered in fog. A flock of bats beat their leathery wings as they flew over the boat. In the long vessel, a large and heavy coffin lay._

_The coffin's lid creaked open and a woman with crimson-red lips sat up, taking in the night air. She looked at her bats, then looked ahead, a wicked smile crossing her face as a dark laugh escaped her lips._

Jaden bolted upright, waking up for the first time since his duel with Nightshroud. As soon as he sat up, he winced and clutched his chest.

"Jaden!" Syrus practically jumped out of his seat next to Jaden's bed as his friend woke up, "Are you alright?!"

The Slifer opened his eyes and panted, still holding his chest, "Weird dream...I saw a girl...,"

"A girl?" Syrus blinked.

"You must be feeling a lot better to be dreaming about girls,"

Both Slifers turned to see Miss Fontaine, the Head of the Obelisk Girl dorm as well as the P.E. Teacher and school nurse, walk into view from behind a curtain, a smile on her face.

"How is Nightsh-...," Jaden stopped himself, "Alexis' brother?" he asked her.

Miss Fontaine sighed and looked to her right where Alexis and Jordan were sitting at Atticus' bedside, solemn looks on their faces.

"I'm afraid he hasn't woken up yet, but the good news is he's in stable condition," she reported, "Poor kid...I don't know what happened to him, but whatever it was, it did a big number on his body and mental state,".

Alexis glanced to the side to see Jordan's head hanging low, a tear falling onto the sheets. She wrapped an arm around her cousin and pulled him close before kissing him on the head.

"It's ok, Jordy...big bro is here. We just need to be thankful for _that_,"

"I wanna hurt 'em, Lexi...I wanna hurt those bastards for taking him...,".

Alexis scowled and looked into her cousins eyes, "Don't ever let me hear you say that again, Jordan!" she whispered, "Atticus is back and he'll get better! Don't go thinking about revenge...I lost my big brother once and I don't wanna lose my little brother after I just got my big brother back!"

Jaden and Syrus looked at each other, wondering what they were talking about. Syrus shrugged and Jaden eased back onto his pillow, eyes feeling heavy.

-----

On a body of dark water, the long boat from Jaden's dream drifted silently. The woman from the coffin looked ahead, then raised her arm to the night sky, her bracelets clinking together.

"Go, my minions!" she hissed, "Find me my prey so we can succeed where Nightshroud has failed!". The woman held a thorny red rose to her breasts and smiled as she watched her winged vassals fly off into the night sky.

-----

"Hey, you hear about the vampire?"

"...a vampire?"

"Dude, I saw her with my own two eyes! Or at least...my roommate did. She's got these gigantic fangs!"

"Wait, you're saying it's a_ she_?"

"I'm so not kidding, a girl vampire!"

"She better stay away from _my_ boyfriend_,"_

These were the rumors going around the campus grounds. From the Ra's in class to the girls dorm in Obelisk Blue, murmurs and whispers of an undead woman going around. It was so popular, even Shephard caught wind of it, and because of that, he gathered some of his Key Keepers to his office to discuss it.

As soon as he heard it, Chazz backed away, looking pretty freaked out, "Vampire?!"

Shephard nodded, "I'm afraid the rumors aren't rumors after all,"

"Oh my...," Banner murmured

"Puh-lease!" Crowler scoffed, "It's just a practical joke! I bet it's that Slifer who wanted to take up Jaden's key! People say he's obsessed with the supernatural and we did turn him down, so it must be him!"

"A joke? Made by Siho?" Bastion asked skeptically, "It wasn't a joke that put Jaden in the hospital and I highly doubt Siho would go through all this trouble to spook the entire campus just because we denied him the Key duty,"

Zane nodded slowly, "Do you think that this vampire woman is a Shadow Rider?" he asked his Headmaster.

"Perhaps...," Shephard looked to his cohorts, "So, we must keep an eye out for anything strange,".

Bastion, Zane and Chazz nodded while both Banner and Crowler looked at each other, rather nervous about the situation.

-----

"Hmph...let's see this vampire girl try to get the drop on the Chazz,"

Chazz sat in his Slifer Dorm room, his old Obelisk Blazer hanging on a hook nearby in plastic and his deck out before him. He was looking through his deck, checking to see if he should take anything out or add anything in case the vampire chick came after him. He was so busy looking at his cards, he didn't even notice a small bat hanging in the rafters above him, eyes glowing red.

-----

Bastion sat at his desk, looking through all of his decks. He had made them equal in power, but wasn't sure which one could serve a better purpose against this possible Shadow Rider. He too, was too busy to notice a vampire bat watching him.

-----

_Jaden's out of commission since his battle with Nightshroud. If this mystery vampire is a Shadow Rider, I need to make sure my Dragons can take her on and beat her quickly..._

Zane sat in his dorm room, fanning out his deck. As he did, another bat watched him from his open balcony window.

-----

"A vampire? What's next, the Boogeyman?"

Crowler huffed and sat down at his desk inside his large office, his deck in front of him. He rolled his eyes, "Who on earth would believe such nonsense?"

He didn't notice a bat peeking over a window slit nearby.

-----

"Stay away! I know you're out there!"

Banner sat in front of a makeshift shrine, dressed in a priest's outfit, complete with headband and robe. Lit candles surrounded him as he waved a large stick with sutras tied to it around, strands of garlic hung from the ceiling.

"I have a _huge_ horror movie collection, I know _all_ you weak spots, I'm ready for you!"

Christina waved two smaller versions of his stick as she wore a priestess outfit, sutras slapped all about her body and face.

"I, too, have seen many horror movies, sir, I know what can be done about the bloodsuckers!" she squeaked, waving her two sticks around, "With us working together, they will fail in coming after you! Plus, I got Kairi making crucifixes for the entire Red dorm!"

As the two of them went about chanting protection spells for themselves, a fifth bat watched on, sweatdropping, not sure what to make sure of these two. With the flapping of it's wings, it left the room without being noticed.

-----

Alexis rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. She and Jordan had been at Atticus' side for a long time now. For a change, and to stretch her legs, she rose from her stool and walked over to Syrus.

"Hey, how's Jaden doing?" she asked quietly, looking at the sleeping Slifer.

Syrus lowered his head, "He hasn't said anything since last night," he said sadly.

Alexis frowned slightly, "Oh..,"

"How's your brother, Alexis?" Syrus asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

Alexis shook her head, "Pretty much the same. But he'll get better, I know it! He's a fighter, you know?"

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, I know,"

"I just hope the rest are. after all, it sounds like the next Shadow Rider is here,"

"Yo!"

Both of them turned to see Siho walking up to them, duel disk on his arm.

Alexis raised an eyebrow, "On your way to a duel?" she greeted.

Siho shook his head, "Actually, I thought I'd let you guys know...that those Shadow Riders that are after the Demon cards? Turns out there's another group of 'em!"

"WHAT?!" Syrus and Alexis gasped.

The Slifer nodded, "Oh yeah...but there's two pieces of good news. For one thing, the second group isn't after the Demon cards,"

"Then what are they after?"

Siho shrugged at Syrus' question, "Beats da hell outta me, Truesdale...,"

Alexis folded her arms, "Wait, how do you know about this group, anyway?" she demanded.

Again Siho grinned, "Ran into them a while ago. A chick called herself Caina and she belongs to a group called Cocytus. But fortunately for us, we don't have to worry about her no more,"

"Why not?"

"Why, Rhodes? That's the other bit of good news I have," Siho put his arms behind his head, grinning widely, "I kicked her ass in a duel. Beat her and she just ran away like a little crybaby,"

Alexis groaned and shook her head, rubbing her eyes.

What the three didn't notice, was that a bat had been staring at them, hearing the whole thing.

-----

In a large bathroom, lying leisurely in a big bathtub, the 'vampire' woman watcehd as a bat fluttered into the room. She turned her head slightly, smiling at her pet, and held out her hand, urging it to come to her.

She giggled as the bat landed on her finger, "My precious, what have you brought me today?" she purred.

The bat's eyes glowed a bright red and it's owner's eyes began to glow the same color.

Images of the Key-Keepers came to her minds eye, making her smile wide.

"Hmm...so this is our opposition?" she mused, "Who shall it be?"

She watched as the faces of the Key-Keepers come and go until she caught sight of one, one with dark blue hair and a firm, serious face.

"You..._you_ will be my first," she whispered before the image of a black haired teen in red came to her mind's eye, "Hm? This isn't a Key-Keeper...," she glanced at the bat on her finger, "Why have you shown me this?".

The bat squeaked and flapped it's wings.

"Caina has fallen by this one's hands?" the woman asked, surprised, "My...that is very interesting. Tis a shame though, Caina was like a little sister to me...but this one raises my curiousity as the blue hair makes my heart beat for the first time in centuries,"

-----

That night, as the rest of the Academy went to be with uneasy feelings, the Key-Keepers returned to Shephard's office to report what they had done since that morning.

"Good news, Chancellor," Chazz said with a smug smirk on his face, "I searched the whole campus and there's no-,"

"VAMPIRE!"

Everyone turned around as Chumley ran into the room, his face very pale.

Chumley stopped before crashing into Shephard's desk. He panted, trying to catch his breath, "I saw her! She's at the lake!"

-----

The five Key-Keepers, along with Chumley as their guide, walked through the woods for a short while, coming to the lake's edge. A crescent moon hung in the air and a light fog covered the area. A figure stood just a few feet away.

"Who is that?" Banner asked, peering through the fog.

The figure, having heard him, turned and walked to them.

Unsure and uneasy, the group stepped back until the figure finally came into good enough view.

Siho waved at them, "Sup?"

Crowler growled, "Just what do you think you're doing here, Slifer?!" he screeched, "Don't you know there's a dangerous person on the loose?!"

Wincing, Siho pretended to clean out his ear after the yell, "Duh, I know. I heard about the vampire earlier today and since then," he pulled open his blazer to reveal a couple of crosses and a few wooden stakes along with bottles of clear liquid, "Well...you can guess what I came to do,"

Banner shook his head, "Ay yi yi yi yi...Siho, go back home. We'll take it from here,"

Siho 'pfft' and grinned, "You frickin' kiddin' me, teach? Look, I don't care if I get detention for this, I wanna stick around and check out this vampire chick. Who knows?" he shrugged, still grinning, "Could be a babe,"

Bastion pointed behind him, "I believe you're about to get your chance. I think she's expecting us,".

Siho and the others looked back at the lake to see a roll of carpet coming at them, unrolling as it did so.

"Huh...well waddya know," Siho scratched his head.

Crowler grunted, "At least it's the red-carpet treatment," he commented, looking at the carpet roll just as it became totally flat.

"Blood red, too," Zane added, "It's fitting for a vampire, don't you think?"

"So, what now?" Bastion asked as Crowler and Banner slowly walked behind the students, trying to hide themselves.

"Now we face her," Zane reasoned.

Chazz nodded, "Yeah, but who?"

As if on cue, Banner and Crowler backed into each other, scaring the crap out of themselves. Crowler yelped and jumped out of the line, ahead of the others.

Chumley crossed his arms, watching his teacher, "Oh wow, you are so brave, Doctor Crowler!"

"We'll be right behind you," Bastion said supportively.

Banner poked his head out, "Yes, by a good ten feet!"

Siho looked at his dorm head, "You don't like this sorta thing, do ya teach?"

"No, not really,"

Crowler spun around, "Hey, I have an idea...let's draw straws to see who goes first!" he offered, then frowned, tapping his chin, "But wait, we don't have any straws. I know, I'll go get them, just don't follow me!"

"Sorry Crowler," Chazz shook his head, "But like it or not, you're up first,"

Tears rolled down Crowler's pale face. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there. For that and his physical misery, Siho was quite pleased.

The Slifer looked around, "Hey, where Chumley go?"

-----

"Syrus!" Chumley burst into the infirmary, startling Alexis and Syrus, "Crowler's gonna duel the vampire lady!"

Syrus rose from his seat, "That's good! He'll beat her easy, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Wrong Sy," Alexis got to her feet as well, "Crowler may talk a big game, but he plays a terrible one!"

Jaden looked at his friends, then as a light hooting reached his ears, he turned to the right to see Winged Kuriboh hovering just beside him.

-----

Crowler stood in front of the others, facing the long path of red carpet that lay above the lake's surface, humming to keep his composure as best he could.

"Yo, Crowler, what's the hold up?"

The head of Obelisk glared at Chazz, "If you're in such a hurry, why don't _you_ go first?!" he hissed just before a strong wind came out of nowhere.

They all turned back to the lake to see the fog lifting and a boat floating not too far away. A tall, beautiful woman stood on the boat, her blood red dress clinging to her like a second skin. Her long green hair just glistening in the moonlight.

"Gentlemen," she greeted, her voice thick with a strange accent, "Why don't I come to you?".

She stepped off her boat and started to walk elegantly down the red carpet, sending small ripples across the water with each step of her black heels. As soon as she reached the lake edge, she took one look at Crowler and her face took a look of disgust.

"Who might _you_ be?"

Crowley gulped, "I'm your challenger," he replied shakily, really not wanting to be there.

_Hm, I don't think so..._ the vampiress thought, glancing off to the side at Zane, _I crave another. Or rather _she looked to the other side at Siho, _Two others..._

"You are not worthy," she sighed, turning back to Crowler.

The head of Obelisk nearly lost his footing at the insult, "I beg your pardon?! I have a PhD in Dueling! That's nine years of duel school, you know!"

"Fine...if you are so eager to lose your Key, you may duel me," the woman bowed her head as a group of bats appeared out of nowhere behind her, "Camula, vampire mistress of the Shadow Riders!". Her eyes began to glow a bright red at the end of her introduction.

"So _she's_ the vampire...," Banner smiled slightly, "I need to get new horror movies,"

"Dude, I am so with you on that. She's frickin' hot...," Siho agreed, nodding.

Crowler rolled his eyes, "Rubber bats and plastic teeth. You don't scare me!"

"Well perhaps this will. If you lose, not only do I get your Spirit Key, I get your soul...," Camula held up a small doll which looked like a voodoo doll, "Actually, this little doll does,"

"You want to take his soul _and_ the Key?!" Bastion repeated, as if he misunderstood her.

Chazz scowled, "Forget it!"

Crowler, however, smiled while the others looked panicky, "Is that all? Don't want something for your 'mummy' or even perhaps your pet werewolf for something to chew on?" he asked mockingly.

Camula smiled widely and evilly, "Be careful what you wish for, because it may just come true, Key-Keeper! Let's duel!" she hissed as Crowler made his way to another part of the beach, away from the others.

Both Crowler's body duel disk and Camula's strange, winged duel disk whirred to life, the two duelists drawing their hands.

**CM: 4000  
CR: 4000**

"So, Key-Keeper, you say you don't believe in werewolves?" Camula drew and looked at her card, "Well, perhaps _this _will convince you. Rise, Zombie Werewolf (1200/1200)!"

At her command, a large furry lycanthrope appeared on the field in torn pants and eyes glowing bright red, it's yellow teeth catching the moonlight.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown," Camula finished, slipping a card into her strange duel disk.

Crowler smirked, "Please, what do you take me for, some kind of amateur? That facedown is _obviously_ a Trap and that fleabag is clearly the bait. Even so, I'll bite," he raised her hand as his card popped out of the deck area into his hand.

"You've bitten off more than you can chew, my dear. First, I play a Spell known as Ancient Gear Castle!" he paused as a large castle made of stone and metal chains rose up behind him, "It gives all of my Ancient Gear creatures an extra 300 attack points. Secondly," he held up a card, "I'll play the Ancient Gear Soldier (1300/1300) in attack mode!"

He smiled as a large, metallic monster similar to his Ancient Gear Golem appeared, only this one was smaller and carried a machine gun on one arm.

"As I said, with the Castle out, all my Gear monsters gain 300 attack points!"

Ancient Gear Soldier (1600/1300)

"Now Camula, I think it's time to give that slobbering, mangy mutt his shots!" Crowler pointed to the Zombie Werewolf, "Ancient Gear Soldier, attack with Rapid Fire Flurry!"

The Zombie Werewolf howled in pain as the Gear Soldier opened fire on him, ripping his furry body with shrapnel before exploding into a giant cloud of smoke.

**CM: 3600  
CW: 4000**

Camula didn't look worried, in fact she was very calm, despite her monster being blasted to smithereens.

Zane grinned at his teacher's success, "I guess Crowler's more of a cat person,"

Banner shook his head, "No...afraid not. He doesn't like Pharaoh, so I don't think he likes cats,"

"That was fun!" Crowler practically squealed, "I should get out of the classroom more often!"

"On the contrary, you should study up...," Camula told him, the calm look on her face, "Then, you would know that my werewolf is coming back!"

She was right. With another howl, her Zombie Werewolf appeared back on her field, this time stronger than ever.

Zombie Werewolf (1700/1200)

Crowler stared at the beast, "But how?!"

"Ah, the living. I forget the ignorance of the beating heart," Camula smiled, "When Zombie Werewolf is attacked, I get to summon another from my deck, one with 500 more attack points!"

Chazz groaned, "And _he_ teaches_ us_?"

Crowler heard that comment and tried to keep his cool. He nodded to them, "Don't worry, everything is under control...," he turned to his opponent, slipping a card into his disk, "I'll place one card facedown and I believe it's your turn,"

"Why thank you," Camula nodded as she drew her next card, "I summon Vampire Bat (800/800) in attack mode!"

Next to the lycanthrope, a group of large black bats appeared, all of their eyes glowing red as they screeched.

"Now, with my winged friend on the field, every Zombie monster I have gains 200 attack points!"

Vampire Bat (1000/800)  
Zombie Werewolf (1900/1200)

Crowler scoffed, "Don't the three of you look cute?" he taunted, "Now if you had bags, you could go trick or treating!"

"The only treat will be your demise!" Camula laughed, "Zombie Werewolf, go sic that Gear Soldier! Midnight Pounce!"

With a howl, her wolfen friend leapt and sank it's teeth into the metal hide of the Ancient Gear Soldier. The metal man exploded, sending the werewolf back to Camula's side of the field.

**CM: 3600  
CW: 3700**

"Well, looks like your mutt still has some bite in him after all," Crowler chuckled, "No matter, I still have more Life Points,"

"Perhaps, although not for much longer! Vampire Bat, attack with Swarming Scourge!" Camula ordered.

The flock of bats screeched and soon, every one of them surrounded Crowler, biting and gnawing at his body, their fangs drawing blood with each bite.

_I can actually feel their little teeth! This isn't some dueling hologram, this is real! But that means...that this is a **real** Shadow Game!_ Crowler thought as he fell to his knees, clutching his head as the bats swarmed around him.

**CM: 3600  
CW: 2700**

-----

Syrus, Chumley and Alexis stayed in the Infirmary, looking at the PDA footage of the Shadow Game while Jaden still lay in his bed.

"Aw man, Crowler's taking a beating!" Syrus moaned.

"No, he can't!" Alexis shook her head, eyes never leaving the screen, "If he loses, he'll lose his key _and_ his soul!"

-----

Camula laughed wickedly as her winged friends came back to her.

"For rubber bats, they pack quite a wallop don't they?" she asked, a large smile on her face.

Crowler looked up at her, gritting his teeth as blood seeped through the numerous small holes on his body.

"Look, darling, you don't _have_ to take this punishment," Camula shook her head, looking sympathetic, "Step down and I'll duel the one in white,"

Chazz looked at Zane, "Hear that? Sounds like you her type," he cracked.

"More like blood type," Banner added.

"So how about it, darling?" Camula turned back to Crowler, "Give me your student and I'll let you go free!" she offered.

"As tempting as your offer is...," Crowler staggered to his feet, not looking very pleased, "I don't think so! I won't let you lay a finger on _my_ students! Do you understand?! I am the leading professor at the most famous Duel Academy in the world and if you want to get to my pupils, you'll have to get through your's truly!"

Siho sniffed and raised an arm to his eyes, "He really does care...I'm so touched!"

Chazz frowned at his former dorm head, "But, you can barely stand, Crowler!" he protested.

"Don't worry about me...," Crowler turned to them, smiling, "I still...have a deck in my hand, and a few...tricks up my sleeve. Like...this one!" he turned back to Camula, pushing a button on his duel disk, "I play my facedown known as Damage Condenser! It lets me summon a monster with attack points equal or less to the damage you just inflicted on me! In other words, the more pain you deal, the more hurt _you_ feel!" Crowler placed a card onto his disk, "Rise, Ancient Gear Soldier!"

Ancient Gear Soldier (1300/1300) -- (1600/1300)

Crowler chuckled as his metal creation came to his side, "But he won't be around for long. I now summon the Ancient Gear Soldier to summon my own four-legged friend. The Ancient Gear Beast (2000/2000)!"

Siho blinked a few times as a large metal hound made of gears and armor plating appeared, eyes glowing with the energy that fueled him. He waved his hand to it, "Gentlemen, Mecha-Kujo! If you think he's tough now, wait till he's powered up by the castle!"

Ancient Gear Beast (2300/2000)

"And you're about to see that he's well-trained!" Crowler barked at the vampiress, "Ancient Gear Beast, show that Zombie Werewolf who's top dog!"

"Don't do it!" Chazz yelled, "If you win, she'll bring back the werewolf again! Hello!"

Crowler turned to him, "Appreciate the advice, Chazz, but you're forgetting his special ability. Ancient Gear Beast negates the effect of any destroyed monster...," he said, wagging his finger.

Bastion smiled, surprised, "What a clever calculation!"

Banner nodded, "Yes, good thinking!" he agreed.

"Now, attack Zombie Werewolf!"

The metal hound pounced onto the lycanthrope, making it yelp in pain as it bit into it's side. With a low howl, the werewolf was destroyed.

**CM: 3200  
CW: 2700**

Crowler laughed triumphantly, "If you'd like some help in dueling strategy, feel free to drop by my class!"

Siho turned to Banner, "Did he just _invite_ a vampire in?"

"Maybe Crowler's lesson plans really _do_ work," Chazz thought aloud.

"Be quiet," Bastion whispered, smiling a bit, "He'd only give us more homework,"

"Nice move," Camula smiled as she drew her next card, "Pity you won't have many more," she said as the end tray of her duel disk opened up, "I play the a Field card known as Infernalvania!"

Crowler stepped back, "You can't! You'll destroy everything with _that_!".

"Exactly. By discarding one Zombie-type monster from my hand, I can send every monster that's on the field straight to the Graveyard!" Camula explained.

Chazz grinned, "True, but don't forget. By using Infernalvania, you're not gonna be able to Normal Summon your monsters anymore!"

"So what? Who says I need anymore monsters?" she cast a smug look at Crowler, "Isn't that right?"

Crowler glared at her, "Don't give me any of that!" he hissed, "I know all about that bat of yours!"

"But do your students?" Camula shot back, "Do they know my Vampire Bat can be made invincible simply by discarding another from my deck, or did you skip that chapter?" she held up a card, "But first, I'll sacrifice one of my Zombie monsters for Infernalvania!"

A man in a dark suit with blue hair appeared, but disappeared shortly after as the Infernalvania building behind Camula began to glow. Crowler's Gear Beast and Camula's bat were both blown away.

"Now, by discarding another from my deck, I can keep _this _Vampire Bat on the field," Camula fanned out her deck, then sent a card into her Graveyard slot. Her bat returned in all it's batty glory.

"Now, attack the good professor!" she hissed at her bat.

Once again, Crowler was completely covered by the horde of bats.

"No! Not again!" he howled, "I can't take much more of this!"

"He needs our help!" Zane said evenly.

Siho whipped out a stake and a crucifix, "I'm on it!"

"No! Stay back!"

The Slifer stopped in his tracks, hearing Crowler's deny for aid.

"This is my duel...and my duel alone!" Crowler looked at them, looking very worn out, "You must protect...your...keys...," he moaned before falling flat on his face.

**CM: 3200  
CW: 1700**

Everyone watched in horror as their comrade fell, unable to duel.

"Crowler!" Zane called out to his professor, "We can't just stay here and do nothing!"

Camula smiled and turned to Zane, "Yes, I completely agree with you darling. Come and save your professor, seeing as he can't save himself,".

"Hey, she-bitch!"

The vampiress looked over her shoulder to see Siho standing nearby, stake at the ready.

"It won't matter who wins this duel, because as soon as it's over, I'm running this right through your chest!" Siho growled, gripping his stake.

Camula chuckled and her eyes began to glow red again, "You...yes, you have much spirit in you, don't you, boy? It's that spirit of yours that sent Caina into a shameful seclusion,"

"Caina?" Chazz blinked and looked at the others, "What's she talking about?"

The others could only shrug or shake their heads, not understanding it either.

Camula's eyes bore into Siho's own, as if they were delving into his very soul.

"Come to me, boy. You are strong and I'm sure you will prove more useful than Caina ever could...," Camula held out her hand, "I won't bite...much,"

Siho's eyes turned to a dull color and he dropped his vamp-killing gear, then walked to the vampiress. Camula chuckled as she ran a finger down Siho's face, "Good boy...now, step back and let me finish what I've started here,"

"Siho!" Banner called out as the Slifer slowly made his way to the side, "Snap out of it!"

"He can't hear you...," Camula turned back around, "He's under my power, just as your friend is under my heel. Neither of them are capable of breaking from my grasp!"

"WRONG!" a new voice yelled out.

Every other Keeper turned around to see Syrus, Chumley and a familiar face coming up to them, riding on Chumley's back.

"Jaden?!" they said together, surprised to see him there.

Jaden hopped off of Chumley's shoulders and leaned on Syrus' shoulders, "Doctor Crowler can win this duel!"

_I know that voice..._ Crowler slowly opened an eye, looking at the group, "It's Slacker...,"

"I know because I've dueled him, believe me, he can throwdown and he can beat you!" Jaden turned to the fallen duelist, "Get up, Doctor Crowler and get your game on!".

Crowler, hearing Jaden's voice, somehow found the strength to get back onto his feet. He stumbled around before getting into a good position.

"I'm not giving up!" he spat at the vampiress.

"Oh?" Camula raised an eyebrow, smirking, "Are you still here?".

"You had better believe it! I'm here to stay, too, missy!" Crowler snapped, "You see, as much as I hate to admit it...JADEN IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I _CAN_ BEAT YOU, I _CAN_ THROWDOWN, AND I _CAN_ GET MY GAME ON!"

Crowler gagged, "Oh, great, now I feel like I've got to wash out my mouth or something,"

Jaden grinned, "C'mon...it's not that bad, teach,"

"Yes, but you know what is? His Life Points," Bastion observed.

Zane nodded, "To win, Crowler would have to mount quite a comeback. It might be the only way to get Siho out of Camula's hold," the Obelisk eyed the entranced Slifer, "When this Rider goes down, he has a lot of explaining to do,"

Crowler raised his hand to his dueling vest as a card popped out, "Now, let's duel!" he looked at his card and slapped it onto his disk, "I summon Ancient Gear Golem (3000/3000) in attack mode!"

Everyone watched as his favorite Machine creature appeared, towering over Camula and her bat.

"Check it! Crowler's best monster!" Chazz grinned.

Syrus frowned at the sight, "But where's the sacrifice?"

Zane pointed to the building behind Crowler, "It's on the field! The Ancient Gear Castle. When it's on the field, and you summon a monster withAncient' in it's name, you can sacrifice the Gear Castle and it counts as how many sacrifice as to how many monsters you've summoned so far," he explained.

The castle disappeared, and that left the Golem without a boost of points, but Crowler didn't seem to care.

"Now, Ancient Gear Golem, attack Vampire Bat with Mechanized Melee!" he ordered, pointing to the flying rat.

Camula winced in pain as the Golem threw it's metal fist through her bat, blasting it into pieces.

**CM: 1200  
CW: 1700**

"Did you forget? My Vampire Bat can't be destroyed, but thanks to my Infernalvania, your Golem can!" she hissed.

Crowler smirked, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, my dear,"

"Huh?"

"What's he gonna do?" Chazz asked.

"Oh..nothing...," Crowler's smile widened, "Except destroy every Spell card on the field!" he held up a card, "Suffer the wrath of Heavy Storm!"

A very strong wind picked up, blowing away the facedown Camula had, including the Infernalvania Spell card. Soon, nothing but the two monsters remained on the field.

"Hmph, you must be a bore for your students...so predictable," Camula sighed in a disappointed tone.

"Please, you don't know what you're talking about," Crowler said dismissively.

"Oh..don't I?!" Camula asked as her jaw stretched farther down than any other jaw possibly could. Large fangs on both top and bottom sets of teeth, a thick tongue sitting between her jaws, and fat muscles appearing on her flesh from her elongated jaw. She waved her arm to her card, "I play Zombie Bed!"

Crowler glared at her, "You can't! I just destroyed that card!" he protested.

"Which is exactly what I wanted you to do!" she hissed.

"But why?!"

Zane grit his teeth, "Of course, it's obvious! In order to be activated, Zombie Bed _must_ be destroyed!"

"Very good, my darling. Now thanks to it's effect, I get to bring back Zombie Werewolf in attack mode! Not only that, he gains the 200 point boost from my Vampire Bat!"

Vampire Bat (1000/800)  
Zombie Werewolf (1400/1200)

"Thanks to your card, you're completely defenseless!"

Chazz stared, wide-eyed, "She knows Crowler's moves before he even makes it!"

The vampiress chuckled as her jaw shrank back to normal size, "It's so easy to know people's moves and decks when you have a hundred flying bats...," she took another card from her hand as a bat landed on her shoulder, "I play Book of Life. This resurrects my Vampire Lord (2000/1500). However, you cannot give live without taking it away, so I'll be taking your Ancient Gear Beast from your Graveyard so you can't use him again!"

Vampire Bat (1000/800)  
Zombie Werewolf (1400/1200)  
Vampire Lord (2200/1500)

"Now, I'm removing Vampire Lord from play to summon Vampire Genesis (3000/2100)!!!" Camular screamed as her gentleman vampire left the field and in his place, a huge, purple beast with strange wing-like appendages on it's back appeared, eyes glowing red.

"Since Vampire Bat is still on the field, my Genesis' power gains 200 extra attack points!"

Vampire Bat (1000/800)  
Zombie Werewolf (1400/1200)  
Vampire Genesis (3200/2100)

Crowler looked at the monster, and nodded. He turned to the others, "My students! No matter what happens to me, always remember _this_...it's true, I may have been hard on you at times, but only because I believe in you. Therefore, if I fall here, there's still hope. I know that you all will rise!" he told them, voice breaking.

"Don't talk like that!" Zane snapped at him.

Jaden looked on at the man who tried so hard to throw him out of school, "This isn't good...,"

"Have you finished your final lesson yet?" Camula asked impatiently, "Crowler...?"

The Head of Obelisk Blue snapped his head to the annoying vampiress, "Excuse me, but that's _Doctor_ to you!" he shouted.

Camula laughed heartily, believe it or not, "Very well. I'll put that on your tombstone as soon as I'm finished! Vampire Genesis, destroy his Golem!"

A purple mist emanated from the Genesis beast and surrounded itself around Crowler's monster. The mist tore the Golem apart, dealing damage to Crowler and his Life Points.

**CM: 1200  
CW: 1500**

"Is that all?!" Crowler barked at her, stumbling around, "I thought you Shadow Riders were supposed to be tough!"

"You want more?" Camula snickered, "Very well! Zombie Werewolf, attack him directly!"

Crowler screamed in pain as the Werewolf raked it's razor-sharp claws along his chest, leaving four tear marks in his coat.

**CM: 1200  
CW: 100**

"Had enough? Hear, try this as well! Vampire Bat, attack now!"

For the third and final time, the swarm of vampire bats surround Crowler, biting and tearing at his body, drawing blood each time.

"Doctor Crowler!" Jaden yelled, not wanting it to end like this.

"Jaden...," Crowler slowly turned his head to the Slifer and gazed at him through the bat cloud, "Avenge me...my boy...,".

With that, and with no strength left in his body, Crowler fell to the ground, defeated.

**CM: 1200  
CW: 0**

"His key is mine...," Camula said with a triumphant tone.

Chazz glared at her, "No way...," he growled.

"We can't stop her. Crowler lost the duel!" Jaden reminded his comrade of the rules to the Keys and Spirit Gates.

Camula walked over, bent down and took the key from around Crowler's neck. She looked at it briefly before it disappeard into dozens of lit orbs, "One down...six more to go," she giggled, pulling out the rag doll from behind her, "Now, children...for my second prize,"

Everyone watched as the both the doll she held in her hand and Crowler's body began to glow with an unholy purple aura. The doll began to take an ugly shape and soon, it looked like a horrifying version of a chibi Crowler.

Camula shook her head, then dropped it, "Dolls are pretty..._this_ is decidedly not. It's garbage!" she walked backwards and wrapped her arms around the out of it Siho, a smile on her face, "Now this one...I'm sure I can play with him for a little while,"

"That does it!" Jaden was about to step forward, but a duel disk got in his way. He looked at the owner, "Zane...,".

The Kaiser of Duel Academy stared long and hard at Camula as she played with Siho's hair, "She's mine, Jaden,".

Camula smiled as a large dark castle appeared in the fog behind her, "I'm afraid I must say farewell to you all for now, my children. For now, my new friend and I must rest in my keep,".

"We'll find you!" Bastion swore to her.

"And duel!" Chazz threw in.

Again, the Vampiress smiled, "Children...that is exactly what I'm hoping for," she cackled before she and Siho vanished into thin air, her cold laughter echoing into the night sky.

**To be continued...**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Oh...crap! Not only is the first Key been snatched, but so has Siho! Oh, what will happen to our friend while the others try to avenge their comrade? Find out in the next chapter!**

**P.S. for those who might think I'm favoring Siho with spotlight right now, I'm really not. That abduction thing was an idea given to me by a good friend of mine, and I figured...what the hell, it could explain some stuff I have planned. ****Peace out for now, guys. Ja ne!**


	47. Duel With a Vampire Part Two

**Duel With A Vampire Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Previously, on GX: Heroes, the second Shadow Rider came to Duel Academy. It was a vampire woman named Camula and she had sent the campus into a spin of frightening rumors. In an effort to stop the rumors and to stop her from taking the Demons, the remaining Key-Keepers met her at the lakeside, with Crowler as their rep. However, Camula managed to beat Crowler with an arsenal of Vampire and Zombie monsters, and therefore, took his Spirit Gate Key. But that's not all what she took. She took his soul and placed it inside a voodoo dool. THEN, she abducted Siho because of his victory over Caina. Now, with one Key-Keeper down, and a friend held captive, the gang has more incentive than ever to beat this duelist of the night._**

**_Vampire chicks are hot, but damn, they're a pain in the neck._**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The next day, thick rainclouds covered the sky over Duel Academy, which sort of fit the mood around the campus after what had happened last night. However, the moods among the group were just a _tad_ different then others.

"First, I play a Trap, then I play a Spell, then I'll attack!" Jaden winced at the pain in his body and laid back down on his infirmary bed, "At least, after I get better I will...Camula's gonna get it sooner or later. I mean, taking that Spirit Key is one thing, but taking Crowler's soul, too?!"

"Easy, Jay...," Syrus told him from his bedside, "You should rest!"

Banner nodded as he held Pharaoh, "Syrus is right. We need to be at our best, because if we aren't, it will be _our_ souls that will be sealed in those dolls and our bodies will be...catatonic!"

Pharaoh mewled irritably and leapt out from his master's arms, then scurried underneath Jaden's bed. The Head of Slifer dorm sighed and followed his cat underneath the mattress, "No, Pharaoh! Just because the word has 'cat' in it, doesn't really apply to you! Though, I don't think 'nine lives' makes a difference with vampires,".

"The worst part is, since Camula beat Crowler and took his key, she only needs six more to open up the Spirit Gates and steal the Legendary Demon cards," Bastion reminded them.

Alexis nodded and turned to her comatose brother while Jordan sat against the wall nearby, fast asleep, "If that happens, it won't be our souls that will be taken, but it will be everyone in the world!"

Chumley looked up at the ceiling, "I can't help but wonder something. Why did she take Siho with her? She said something about someone called Caina, then she just split with him in tow,"

"Uh...," Alexis and Syrus looked at each other, "About that...,"

Zane looked at the two, "Spill it,"

Syrus gulped at the tone of his older brother's voice, "Well...those seven Shadow Riders you guys are dealing with? Well, it turns out that there's another group of Riders called Cocytus and Siho beat one of them,".

"SAY WHAT?!" Bastion, Chazz, Zane, Banner and Jaden yelled, making the two others wince at the volume change.

Banner poked his head out from under Jaden's bed, "What are you talking about?"

_Oh boy..._ Syrus took a deep breath, "Well...there's this other group of Shadow Riders called Cocytus, but they're not after the Demon cards, they're after something else, what we don't know. All we know is that one of them jumped Siho and he beat her...or at least, that's what he told us,"

Banner stared at him, and adjusted his glasses, "I...see. Well, this is something worth looking into,"

"Yeah, but with the guy who actually dueled another kinda Shadow Rider," Chazz leaned back in his chair, "It's tough to get some answers. Real tough since Camula's got him,".

"THAT DOES IT!" Jaden punched the air with both arms, "CAMULA'S MINE!"

"Yeah, right!" Chazz got to his feet and pulled the bedsheet over Jaden's face, "You can't even win a fight against a sheet!" he jerked a thumb to himself, "This job is for the Chazz,"

Jaden grunted as he feebly tried to fend off the attacking bedsheets, "Hold on...almost there...," Jaden pulled the sheet back over his head, freeing himself, "There, I won!"

"No you didn't, it's two outta three!" Chazz snapped, pulling the sheet back behind Jaden's head and pushing him down.

"C'mon, Jaden, you can do it!" Syrus cheered his friend on in the epic struggle against the sheet.

Chazz rolled his eyes and turned to the others, "Look, since Jaden isn't up to snuff, one of us has to face Camula,"

"And by 'one of us' you mean you?" Bastion looked at him, "I'm sorry Chazz, but I'm not entirely convinced that you're the man for the job. I should go,"

"_You_?"

"Uh...almost got it...," Jaden kept struggling with his sheet captor, "Man, what is this sheet made out of? What thread count is this?"

"Shut up," Chazz snapped, glancing back at his fellow Slifer.

"Ok sure...," Jaden's body stopped fighting it, "I need a rest anyway,"

"And what _we _need is to work together!" Alexis stood up from her chair, "The Spirit Gate Keys, saving Doctor Crowler and Siho is all that matters!"

Everyone else nodded, but Jaden sighed in defeat.

"Fine...I'll sit out. At least until I get better...," he groaned.

Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, Syrus turned to see Zane leave the infirmary. Quickly, Syrus shot out of his seat and walked out of the room, following his brother.

"Zane?" he called out after him in the hallway, "Where you going, big bro? Didn't we just decide to work together?" he asked, "What gives?"

His elder brother looked at him, smiled slightly, then started to walk down the hallway again, "If protecting those keys and saving Siho and Crowler's soul is all that matters, then you know where I'm going, Syrus,"

Syrus stood there alone in the hallway, watching his older brother walk away. He wasn't the only one watching, however. Another of Camula's bats was hanging just outside the window.

-----

In her castle, Camula lay in her bathtub, enjoying the soothing bubbles. She opened her eyes as an image of Zane crossed her mind's eye yet again.

"The one I crave is coming," she smiled before blowing a bubble out of her hand, "and I'm ready...,"

She looked over the rim of the tub to see Siho standing against the wall, bangs covering his eyes. She had dressed him in dark clothes, much like other Shadow Riders, or even the kind of color of clothes her people wore so long ago.

"Darling...it seems our friends are about to come and visit us. Would you be so kind as to meet them?" she asked in a sweet tone.

Siho didn't reply. He just nodded, turned around and left the room, boots making loud footfalls as he walked.

Camula giggled, "Such a good boy...,"

-----

Chazz sat on his bed, looking through his deck again as his irritable Duel Spirit floated nearby.

"Hey, long time, Boss!" Ojama Yellow greeted, moving in front of Chazz's face, "How're things?"

Chazz growled, grabbed the Duel Spirit and chucked him into a nearby flat-screen TV, "They _were_ fine, until you showed up," he muttered.

"Aw, now it's great?" Ojama Yellow phased through the TV, smiling, "Thanks, Boss, you really know how to make me feel good," he flew back over to his partner, "So what are you doing, arranging your deck? Can I help?"

Once again, Chazz batted the annoying spirit away from him. Ojama flew across the room and landed on the Crowler doll that lay on the desk nearby.

"Ow! Hey, fragile here!"

Ojama Yellow turned around, hearing a familar voice. He wasn't sure about it, so he poked the Crowler doll, just to check

"What are you doing?! Stop!" the doll screeched, but began to laugh as Ojama Yellow began to tickle it, "N-no! Please, stop!"

"Boss!" Ojama Yellow turned back to Chazz, "This doll's alive!"

Chazz looked at him, then at the doll, "What?"

"It's alive!" his spirit partner repeated, "I swear!"

The Slifer walked over and picked up the doll, "Doesn't look alive to me...,"

"Hey! Ease up on the grip, will you?!" the Crowler-doll snapped, "You're wrinkling my coat!"

"Oh yeah...," Chazz slowly shook his head, "That's Doctor Crowler alright,"

A loud flapping sound made both Chazz and Ojama Yellow look to the side, at the window. Chazz darted over and pulled back the heavy curtain away to see a large group of bats hovering outside, each one staring at him with their glowing red eyes.

Chazz grit his teeth and darted out of his dorm room, "It's started again!"

Another door of the Slifer dorm room opened up and a figure with long hair ran out, following Chazz.

_Hang on, Siho...hang on!_

-----

Banner looked out from his office, and frowned worriedly at the bats, "She's back...,"

-----

Bastion caught sight of the bats and stormed out of the Ra Yellow dorms, duel disk on his arm and key around his neck.

-----

"Run!" Jaden ordered, climbing onto Chumley's back.

"Aw...," Chumley whined, "_Running?_"

"Actually, piggybacking," Syrus offered.

Alexis put her hands on her hips, staring at her friends, "Whatever it is, we better do it, because I get the feeling that vampire is getting ready to bite again,"

-----

Everyone met up at the lakeside, looking up at the castle on the water's surface.

"Everyone ready?" Zane asked quietly, the first one to be there.

"I am," Jaden nodded.

"The Chazz is _always_ ready,"

"Ready and willing," Bastion said with a curt nod.

"As ready as I'll every be," Banner murmured, twiddling his fingers nervously.

"I'm here, ain't I?" Alexis asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oy!" a new voice called out, making the group jump a bit, "Don't forget us!"

Everyone turned to see Kairi and Christina run up to them, a third figure lagging behind.

"What are you guys doing here? Don't you know who's in there?" Banner scolded, pointing to the building behind him.

Christina nodded, "Yeah, and I also know Siho's in there. He's our friend too and while you guys are playing 'Save the Keys, Save the World', Kairi and I are goin' in to get Siho back!"

"So what's he doing here?" Zane asked, looking past them to a figure in a heavy black coat and wide-brimmed hat.

Syrus blinked a few times, "Gabriel Van Helsing?"

Chuckling, the figure lifted his head to reveal that it was Kristerr, "Close, but no cigar," he opened up his coat to reveal many vampire-slaying tools and gear, "Heard what happpened from Kairi and figured I'd come and help ya'll out. Just in case she doesn't go away when she's beaten in a duel," he said with a wink.

_Oh great, vampire-slaying cosplayers_ Chazz rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Are we gonna go or what?!"

-----

"Aw man, now we gotta do stairs?!" Chumley whined as they started a flight of steps. They had entered the castle a short while before and were now walking through the torch-lit corridors, Zane taking the lead of the group.

"Can't I just drag Jaden around?" the chunkey Slifer asked, "It'd be a lot easier on my back,"

"Quiet...," Zane said evenly as they walked, "We're close,"

A few moments after he said those words, a figure stepped out from the shadows, standing in their way.

The group stopped in their tracks as the figure walked up to Zane, it's face revealed by the torch light. He had strange red lines painted on his face and his eyes had changed to that of a strange yellow, but it was no mistaking it. It was him.

"Siho!" Christina broke away from the group and ran up to him.

Before anyone could stop her, Christina wrapped her friend into a big hug.

"Thank Ra, you're ok! You had me worried there!" Christina looked up at her friend and her happy feeling went away. Siho looked down at her, his eyes weren't only changed in color, but they looked changed in liveliness. Instead of the bright look he usually had, his eyes were now a dull yellow color.

"Siho...,"

"She must've done something to him," Banner thought aloud, "I recognize this from my horror movies. A vampire usually takes on a victim for a few different reasons. It could either be for food, for converting, or as a servant who can work in the daytime," he peered at Siho, "I'd say it's a mixture of the last two,"

"What?!" Christina looked at her professor, horrified, "You mean he's a walking corpse?!"

Banner shrugged, "You tell me. Since he doesn't seem to care that you're hugging him, put your head to his chest and listen for a heartbeat,".

Christina looked back at Siho, then pressed her ear against his chest, praying that she would find that one sound that would tell her he was still himself in some way.

His heart was still beating!

"He's not like her!" Christina squealed, running back to Banner, "He's ok!" she turned back to her friend, "Well, besides the way he looks and is acting right now...,"

"Then he just must be a familiar at this point. The full transformation won't take effect for some time. That means we still have time to save him," Banner sighed in relief, "We must take out Camula soon, or else he is lost to us,"

Zane scoffed, "Leave it to me, Professor," he looked at Siho, who turned and stared at him emotionlessly, "Are you here to take us to her?" he asked evenly.

Siho nodded, turned around, then started to walk off.

"I guess that means we follow him," Zane said as he picked up his pace again, his friends quickly walking behind him, none of them wanting to get stuck in the creepy place.

After a short while of walking, the entranced Siho led the group into a huge room, one that resembled a ballroom. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling and on two ends of the room, a balcony jetted outward, as if to overshadow the floor by just a bit.

"Ah, right on time! Good boy, Siho. I think you deserve a treat,"

Siho rushed to one side of the room and jumped onto the balcony furthest from them, surprising everyone. The jump that he had done to get onto the balcony couldn't be done by normal people at all. At least, normal people outside of the high jumpers of the Olympics.

"If we ever needed proof that he is being turned into one like, I'd say we should take that as evidence," Banner said quietly.

Christina's eye twitched, "I'm a-gonna kill that undead bitch for tryin' to convert Siho!"

"I know you're upset," Banner looked down at her, "Which is why I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that,"

Zane stepped forward, eyes scanning the room, "CAMULA!".

"Looking for me, darling?"

Zane, as well as everyone else, looked up at the balcony Siho had landed after his superhuman jump. Camula walked into view, a calm look on her face.

"You bet we are!" Jaden yelled, wincing a bit, "We want Siho and Doctor Crowler back!"

"That's right," Chazz stepped up beside Zane, "So hand 'em over!"

"Or else!" Bastion threatened, joining the two of them.

Camula giggled and shook her head dismissively, "I have no interest in little schoolboys...,"

"She must mean you," Bastion said, looking at Chazz.

"No, she means _you_!" Chazz shot back.

Camula shook her head and her eyes lingered over to Zane, who was staring her down, "Are you ready, darling?"

Zane nodded, "Let's duel...,"

Syrus gulped, looking from both the Vampire to his older sibling, "Good luck, bro," he whispered fearfully.

-----

Lightning crashed and lit the entire room as Zane made his way up to the empty balcony, the one opposite of Camula, his duel disk at the ready.

"Let us review. If you win, you get Crowler's soul back, you get your little comrade," Camula gently pushed Siho to one side, giving her room for her duel, "and I'll be on my way. But if _I_ win, I get your soul, your Spirit Gate Key, and I get to continue me quest to unlock and awaken the Legendary Demons," she continued as her custom duel disk whirred to life, the wing-like tray folding out.

"Duel!" they cried as they drew their hands.

**C: 4000  
Z: 4000**

"I like to lead," Camula drew her card, only to place it sideways on her disk, "I play Vampire Lady (1550/1550) in defense mode, and I lay one card facedown...that's all for me," she said as a very pale woman in a purple dress appeared on the field, kneeling.

"Really? Shame...," Zane muttered as he drew his card, "Because it won't be enough to protect you from what I have planned," he held up the card he just drew.

Camula raised an eyebrow, "Playing Power-Bond?"

Zane nodded, "This allows me to fuse Machine-Type monsters and I have the perfect ones in mind. My three Cyber Dragons (2100/1600)!" he paused as his powerful and loyal mechanical serpents appeared before him, "Now unite, and form the almighty Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)!"

From the three Cyber Dragons, his mech-hydra was born, it's three heads shining as the lightning filled the room.

"Zane just brought out his most powerful monster on his very first turn!" Alexis gasped.

_Wow...that's not like Zane. He usually feels out an opponent before playing Power-Bond _Syrus looked from the Cyber Dragon and to his brother, _It's like just using it instead of playing it. I hope he knows what he's doing..._

"My, I like your agressiveness, but Power-Bond has it's risks," Camula reminded him, "Are you certain that you can handle all of the consequences?"

"She's right," Chumley shifted Jaden's weight, "At the end of the turn, Zane takes damage equal to Cyber End Dragon's original attack points, and that add's up to 4000 big ones, but that may be a risk he's willing to take, because now Power-Bond double Cyber End Dragon's attack points!"

Cyber End Dragon (8000/2800)

"8000 points?!" Camula hissed.

"I don't think I have to worry about consequences after this turn," Zane spat at her, "Now, Cyber End Dragon, attack Vampire Lady! Super Strident Blaze!"

The mech-hydra roared and it's three heads fired three seperate beams of great power, and as they flew towards the Vampire Lady, they combined to create a huge stream of energy.

"Forget about my facedown?!" Camula shouted over the noise as her card was revealed, "I play the Trap, Red Ghost Moon! Now, darling, by discarding one Zombie-Type monster from my hand to the Graveyard, your monsters attack points are added straight to my Life Points and our little battle ends right here and now!"

Zane grit his teeth as Camula began to show off a golden aura, thanks to the Trap and his own monsters attack.

The vampiress laughed, "That's 8000, plus the 4000 I already had, coming to a total of 12,000 Life Points!"

"Wrong!" Zane held up another card, "I play the Spell card De-Fusion, disassembling my Cyber End Dragon and leaving you...,"

"Absolutely nothing!" Bastion smiled, "Red Ghost Moon's target is gone, so it's effect is canceled!"

"My points!" Camula watched as the aura around her disappeared before her Life Points could be increased.

Syrus smiled as the Cyber End Dragon disappeared and the three Cyber Dragons came back, "You know what else? Since Power-Bond is gone...,"

"He won't have to pay in points for using it!" Chumley whooped.

Jaden nodded, "Now _that's_ playing a card!"

"I'll end with one facedown," Zane finished, slipping a card underneath one of his Cyber Dragons.

Camula chuckled, "Oh, my darling. I can see now why you're ranked the top duelist at Duel Academy,"

"Actually, you haven't seen anything yet," the Kaiser said quietly.

"Well, I hope not. Zane dear, precious, we haven't even begun to duel, just yet!" Camula smiled wickedly, "I'm going to have so much fun with you,"

Syrus gulped, "I don't think I'm gonna like her kind of fun...,"

"Well, if she follows the vampire 'fun' I've seen in my dad's movies...it's gonna be _kinky_," Christina said aloud.

Everyone in the watching group slowly turned around and stared at her.

"What?"

"Now then, shall we?" Camula drew her next card, "First, I'll sacrifice Vampire Lady to summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500)!"

The undead woman in violet disappeared and in her place, a handsome man in a dark violet suit and cape appeared, his skin white as a sheet.

"Now, I'll sacrifice _him_ to summon Vampire Genesis (3000/2100),"

The handsome vampire prince bowed before vanishing and was replaced by the horrid, winged behemoth Vampire that took down Crowler and his monsters the night before.

"Dude...," Kairi pointed at the giant, "That's...one ugly motherf-,"

"Kairi!" Banner scolded.

"Darling Zane, I promised you some fun, didn't I?" Camula tilted her head slightly, "Looks like we'll have it after all. Are you excited?"

Zane's only reply was the firm stare and silent treatment.

Camula scowled, "You're such a bore...Vampire Genesis, attack!!"

Zane looked up at the Vampire as it began to glow a dark purple, "As much fun as this is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt it with my facedown card. The Trap called Attack Reflector Unit!"

"A Trap?!"

"One that's evolutionary," Zane said as one of his Cyber Dragon's began to be covered by panels and panels of mirror glass, "Attack Reflector Unit evolves my Cyber Dragon into the Cyber Barrier Dragon (800/2800)!"

The Cyber Barrier Dragon looked much like it's counterpart, except it had a large cuff-like apparatus around it's neck and the tip of it's tail looked like a sharp-ended probe from a science fiction movie.

"Also, when the Cyber Barrier Dragon is in attack mode, once per turn, it's special power allows me to negate the attack of one of your monsters! So, your Vampire Genesis' attack can go right back to where it started!"

Vampire Genesis' dark mist shot from it's master and flew towards Barrier Dragon, only to be stopped by a green light that emanated from the Machine monster. The mist bounced off and returned to the other side of the field, leaving Zane safe...for now.

"How dare you!" Camula screeched.

Jaden looked down at his friend, "Your bro's got game, Syrus! No wonder he beat me...although it was close,"

"Yeah...," Syrus nodded.

"It's my turn," Zane drew his card, "Now, I play the Spell card Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two more cards from my deck," Zane drew the new cards and turned one of them over, "Next, I'll activate the Spell card Photon Generator Unit! By sacrifing my remaining two Cyber Dragons, I can summon the Cyber Laser Dragon (2400/1800)!"

His two Cyber Dragons vanished and a new Dragon appeared. It had a longer, sleeker, and more silver body than the others, but it had that round-tipped tail sort of like the Barrier Dragon.

"With Laser Dragon out, once every turn, I can destroy one monster that has equal or more attack points than it's own!"

"I bet you talk to all the girls like that," Camula mused.

"No, just the ones I really don't like!" Zane spat, "Now, Laser Dragon! Let loose with Blue Lightning Lash!"

His Laser Dragon curled it's tail up and aimed the tip at Genesis. A beam of bright blue energy shot out of the Dragon's tail and struck Genesis directly in the chest, destroying it easily.

"Now, attack her directly!" Zane ordered, "Blue Lightning Blast!"

Another beam of blue energy, this time from the Dragon's mouth, soared through the air. Camula screamed as the energy beam hit her dead on, knocking off a good chunk of her Life Points.

**C: 1600  
Z: 4000**

"Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about Cyber Barrier Dragon. Attack, with Sonic Shriek!"

Cyber Barrier Dragon opened it's mouth and an ear-piercing scream rippled through the night air, a group of bright green rings blasted outward, hitting Camula so hard, she flew back into the wall behind her. Siho rushed to help his vampire mistress to her feet.

**C: 800  
Z: 4000**

"Awesome! That's _exactly_ how I woulda done it!" Chumley smiled widely.

"Sure, Chum," Jaden patted him on the back, "In your dreams!"

"Now you guys see why my brother's never lost!" Syrus said proudly, looking at his sibling, "But mom says I got all the looks,"

"Uh...," was all that everyone else could say to that.

Zane slipped another card into an empty slot, "I'll end my turn with a facedown," he said quietly.

Camula pushed Siho away after rising to her feet. She slowly made her way back to her place on the balcony, head low, "Darling...you _do _realize you're forcing me to show my ugly side?" she asked as she lifted her head up, showing her elongated jaw, long sharp fangs, and thick red tongue.

A loud thudding noise made Banner and Chazz turn around to see that both Kairi and Christina had fainted at the sight of the vampire's true face.

Camula kept her face even as she drew her card. She looked at it, then back at Zane, "It's only going to get uglier. I play the Spell card Phantom Gate!" she declared as a stone door and archway rose up from the floor behind her.

Zane looked at the door, confused, "Phantom Gate?"

"Wow...," Jaden looked over Chumley's head, "I've never heard of it. You guys know what it does?"

Bastion shook his head, "No, I'm afraid I don't,"

"Not me...," Chazz threw in.

Banner frowned slightly, "I think we're about to find out,"

"Behold!" Camula laughed as the golden choker around her neck began to glow, just as the gate opened up all the way, letting in a bright light, "First, this Spell card destroys every monster on your field!"

Zane covered his eyes as the light shined so brightly, both his Dragons were blasted into smithereens.

"But that's not all," Camula continued as she somehow split into two seperate copies of herself, "This card has _twin_ functions. You see, this card allows me to summon any monster that either of us has used during this entire duel,"

"What?" Zane blinked, not sure if he heard right.

"Even though you've de-fused Cyber End Dragon after only one turn, you _did_ use him during this duel!"

Zane scoffed, "Please. There's no card that's powerful enough to let you make a move like _that_. There must be some kind of catch!"

"Yes. You see, after I play Phantom Gate, and should I lose this duel, I must offer up a soul to the Legendary Demons as tribute!"

Bastion raised an eyebrow, "Is that all?"

"Good!" Chazz grinned, "It's what she gets for taking Crowler and that Slifer!"

"Beg your pardon?" Camula looked down at the audience, "I said a soul, not _my_ soul! You see, in the Shadows, it's all the same to the Demons...," her eyes moved towards the smallest member of the group, "Syrus...,"

Syrus' eyes widened, "Huh?!"

"Yes," Camula smiled, "The Demons will find your soul to be a tasty treat I'm sure!"

_No! _Zane snapped his head to his brother, "Syrus! _Run!_" he screamed.

"I don't think so!"

Before Syrus could make an attempt to run away, the duplicate of Camula flew down and snatched the little Slifer up and away from his friends, holding him close to her as she returned to the balcony.

"Sy!" Zane cried.

Syrus lowered his head, weakened by the magic of the Phantom Gate and the duplicate Camula, "Sorry, Zane...,"

"Now...," Camula raised her hand to the sky and light began to shine forth from the Gate once again, "I summon the almight Cyber End Dragon!"

Syrus cried out as a yellowish aura surrounded him, then poured outward as the three-headed metallic Dragon returned, only this time, to Camula's side of the field.

"Syrus...," Zane grit his teeth as his brother slumped in the Vampiress' arms, drained of energy.

"Whatever will you do, darling?" Camula taunted, "I have your most powerful monster, and you're little brother...," she looked at the aura before it disappeared, "Actually, I'd think they're one and the same, now. After all, even if you should win back the Cyber End Dragon, you'd be losing little Syrus' soul as well," she giggled as her twin pet Syrus' hair, "So, as I said...whatever will you do?"

_The facedown card on my field is Call of the Haunted_ Zane looked at the card, paused in mid-draw, _If I activate it to resurrect Cyber Barrier Dragon, I can stop that Cyber End Dragon and win the duel! Camula will be defeated and we'll be that much close to keeping the world safe from those Demon cards, and in exchange, we just lose one soul...my brother's..._ Zane looked back at the other side of the field, _This choice is clear._

"So what will it be? Save the world, or save your brother's soul? Even though it means losing yours?" Camula asked, hand on her hip.

Syrus groaned and lifted his head, looking straight as his brother, "Zane...go ahead. Do it and win the duel...,"

"What?" Zane stared at his brother shocked at those words.

"My soul is a small price to pay to beat Camula. After all, if she wins, she gets your Spirit Key and you know what that means. The Shadow Riders will be that much close to releasing those Demons. Besides, Zane, if one of us has to go down, it might as well be me. I may have gotten the looks, but you have gotten everything else. The skills, the smarts, everything! Anyway, Big Bro, at least this way, I can be remembered besides being your little brother. This way, Zane, I'll be the one who gets to be the hero, the one who saves the day...,"

Zane remained quiet and noticed a tear fall from his brother's sad eyes.

"After all, we both know that I wouldn't have been able to do it by dueling. It's just like you said...I never belonged here!"

"I did say that before, but since then, you've proven me wrong, Syrus. You _do _belong here,"

Syrus lifted his head, "Huh?"

"I love you, Syrus. _Never_ forget that. I'll miss you, Little Bro...farewell," Zane lowered his duel disk and looked at Camula, "I stand down!" he declared loudly.

Syrus' eyes widened, "Zane, what are you doing?!"

"So be it! Cyber End Dragon, destroy him!" Camula ordered, pointing towards the Obelisk.

Syrus and the others could only watch in horror as the three-headed Dragon blasted it's own master with it's powerful blast.

"No!" Syrus struggled to get free, "Take me instead!" he pleaded.

**C: 800  
Z: 0**

Lightning flashed once again as Zane's Spirit Key fell from his neck onto the floor, glowing before vanishing from sight.

Camula's Phantom Gate and her double disappeared, freeing Syrus from their hold on him.

"Big Brother!"

Zane fell to his knees and his eyes grew dull and dark as Camula pulled out another ragdoll. Zane's body glowed with the same light that took Crowler the previous night, soon it disappeared. Camula looked down at the doll to see that it had taken on Zane's features and even a little blazer and blue hair.

"Darling, you're mine at last. A bit smaller and a tad less talkative, but a darling trophy nonetheless...,"

She turned around and handed the doll to Siho, who pocketed it carefully. Everyone watched as Camula pulled Siho close to her and disappeared in a swirling cloud of dust and smoke, laughing as they departed.

-----

After a hasty retreat, everyone managed to find _some_ rest on the banks around the lake. Kairi was getting slapped awake by both Christina, who managed to awaken a few minutes before, and Kristerr while Syrus stared at the castle in the distance, his heart broken.

"Just like that...he's gone...," he whimpered, tears welling up.

Everyone looked at him, all of the saddened by the loss of the school's Kaiser. The strongest of the group had sacrificed himself for the sake of his little brother, who he loved so much.

"That does it...,"

Syrus looked to the side just as Jaden fell to his knees, still weak. The brunette Slifer grunted through the pain and looked up at the castle.

"You hear that?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing across the lake, "It's over, Camula! I'm sick of you taking my friends! Got that!? What you did to Crowler, to Siho and to Zane...it stops here and I'll be the one who stops it!"

"Jaden-,"

"Sure, I may not be up to snuff, but I'm taking you on and one way or another, I'm getting our friends back!"

"It's about time!" the Crowler doll in Chazz's jacket pocket muttered.

"CAMULA!" Jaden shouted, clutching his side in pain, "I'm coming for you, Camula! So get ready to get your game on!"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: wow...that was so touching how Zane did that to save Syrus. The bond of brothers is indeed strong! I think I might just cry...but that'll wait. Can Jaden beat Camula, despite his condition? Read the next one to find out!**

**P.S. I know that the english dub, that card she uses is called _Illusion Gate_, and not _Phantom Gate, _but I thought the name from the japanese version would sound more appropriate, given the setting and owner.**


	48. Duel With a Vampire Part Three

**Duel With a Vampire Part Three**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: ok, first off, I hope that everyone enjoyed the 2 chapters in 1 day thing. I know I was slow lately, but hopefully, that makes up for it. Also, my thanks go out to ****Kageshinobiguardian for telling me Vampire Bat's stats. I have made the modifications to that chapter, so that it works with it. Now on with da chapter!**

**_Previously on GX: Heroes, led by a hypnotized Siho, Zane and the others walked into Camula's castle on the lake, ready to take her down for taking their friends as well as their Spirit Gate Keys. Zane nearly won the duel against the vampiress, but Camula pulled a dirty move by playing a card known as Phantom Gate. With that card, she could summon a monster that was used in the duel, but it came at a price. She needs a soul to offer to the Demons in case she lost. Zane could've won the duel, even as his own Cyber End Dragon turned on him, but when Camula abducted Syrus and held his soul hostage, Zane's love for his baby brother outweighed his desire to protect his Spirit Key. He forfeited and Camula won the second Key. Now, Jaden is mad and ready to take her down._**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Chancellor Shephard stood in his office, watching as another storm raged on outside. The only light present in the room was his computer's monitor, and the occasional lightning flashes. He had been briefed by Banner about the condition of the Gate that held the Legendary Demons, and was concerned greatly for that.

"Two of the seven Gates have been unlocked...," he sighed and shook his head, "Not a good start,"

A whirring sound made him look over his shoulder. On the monitor, a dark figure with wires and tubes appeared.

**_"You disappoint me, Shephard,"_** the figure chuckled, **_"Your excellent duelists only excel in losing. Why don't you just give up and surrender the five remaing Keys?"_**

"It's _not_ over," Shephard turned back to his window, "and if I know my students, they'll never give up, no matter what the odds. After all, they've come to this academy to become champions,"

**_"And they'll end up being victims," _**the figure taunted, **_"My vampire is ready to feed again!"_**

"Speaking of that vampire, why is it she has taken a Slifer student captive?" Shephard looked back to the screen, "I heard from the others that it somehow involves another group of Shadow Riders called Cocytus. This wasn't part of the ritual, so why have you brought in four more duelists to go against us?!"

**_"Fool, you think that the Legendary Demon cards are the only thing that's worth fighting for on that island? My Shadow Riders are taking care of the battle ritual as the edict commands, while Cocytus is working on the other prize,"_**

"Other prize?"

**_"Goodbye, Shephard,"_** the figure laughed again before the screen turned off by itself.

-----

Alexis sat at her brother's bedside once more, hoping that her brother would wake up, but so far, nothing had changed.

Movement from the other side of the room made her turn to see Jaden tossing a bit in his sleep, groaning in pain with every movement.

"Jaden, get well," she whispered, turning back to her brother, "After all, with my brother still unconcious and Zane's soul stolen, we'll need all the help we can get to fight the Shadow Games and that vampire Camula...,"

She turned her head to see how Jaden was again, but stopped in mid-turn when she noticed something. The half-pendant Atticus still wore around his neck began to glow brightly, and her brother's hands began to move, reaching for it.

"Atticus!" she gasped, looking at her brothers face.

The older Rhodes grunted and began to slowly open his eyes as he took hold of the amulet.

-----

-That night, at the lakeside-

"C'mon, Professor Banner, you have to duel that vampire, you're a Shadow Games expert!" Syrus half-begged as he, Chumley and Christina pushed and pulled their reluctant teacher towards Bastion, Chazz, Kristerr, and Kairi who were waiting for them a few yards away.

"Yeah, and you're the only one out here wearing garlic aftershave!" Chumley added.

"Well, I wouldn't say that...,"

"What, you got some on too, Chrissy?"

"Hey, my best friend, who is a perverted _guy_ by the way, is being turned into a vampire and if gets the craving for fresh blood, I'm not only protecting my liquid of life, but I'm protecting my body from the theft of innocence!"

Banner tried to pull away from the Slifer trio, "But I can't duel! Who will take care of my cat? Pharoah has a very specific diet!" he protested, holding his feline friend close.

"I can do it!" Christina offered, raising her hand.

"Really, I need someone who knows and loves cats,"

"Yoo-hoo...," Christina waved.

"Since there are no volunteers and no preferable people that come to mind, I _have _to deny the duel in order to keep Pharaoh healthy and happy!"

_He just doesn't want me to glomp the cat..._ Christina thought bitterly, _I can't help it though, that cat's just so big, fat and available for cuddliness!_

"Don't worry about that, Banner," Chazz smirked, "This is clearly a job for Chazz Princeton" he said smugly.

Bastion turned away, "If you mean feeding the cat, I think you're right," he mumbled.

Chazz was about to slug Bastion when a dull roaring sound made everyone turn to the water. A small motorboat was coming onto the banks, with a couple of familiar faces as their passengers.

"The Calvary has arrived!" Alexis greeted loudly as she stepped out into the shallows, "We don't need Banner when we've got Jaden,"

As if on cue, Jaden rose from underneath a dark blanket, smiling, "Wassup?"

Syrus frowned, "For the last time, you _can't_!"

"Yeah, you're still hurt, Slacker," Chazz reminded him.

Bastion nodded, "It's true,"

Alexis frowned slightly, "Maybe, but...," she turned to Jaden, who nodded.

"See, we were back at the hospital...,"

-Flashback-

_Alexis pulled off Atticus' oxygen mask, "You're finally awake!"_

_Atticus breathed slowly and looked up at her, "Alexis, I have to tell about her. The vampire known as Camula. You cannot defeat her like the others," he wheezed._

_"But why not?"_

_"She has a Shadow Charm that gives her the power to steal souls. I'm sure you've seen her use it already. But you can stop her with another Charm...," Atticus looked down at the half-pendant around his neck, rubbing it lightly._

-End Flashback-

"If we can stop her stealing souls, then we can duel her with all our might, without standing there scared," Alexis finished.

Chazz looked away, "I'm not scared of her...,"

"Speak for yourself!" the Crowler doll in his pocket squeaked.

"Yeah, me neither!" Christina threw her fists in the air, "Lemme at her!"

Kristerr looked at her, "Didn't you faint when she went all ugly?"

Christina facefaulted, but decided to remain silent.

"So we fight fire with fire," Alexis continued, "and our own Shadow Charm!"

Jaden nodded as his and Atticus' pendant halves clinked together, "Compliments of Atticus!"

-----

"Alright, Camula, let's go!"

Jaden and the others looked around as the giant slab of stone closed in place behind them after they entered the castle.

"I'm here for my friends, and I'm not leaving without them!" Jaden yelled as a huge flock of bats flew out of the darkness.

The group dashed through the stairway corridor, protecting themselves from the bites and claws of the flying rats. They reached the top of the stairs and found themselves, once again in the ballroom with two balconies. Camula was on top of the one furthest away from them, Siho by her side.

"Actually, truth be told, dear, you're not leaving here again. Not a single one of you are!"

Jaden climbed onto the opposite balcony, duel disk at the ready, "We'll see about that!"

Both disks whirred to life as the two duelists drew their opening hands.

**C: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Get ready to get your game on, Camula!" Jaden drew his card, "Because when someone messes with my friends, it puts me a bad mood!".

"Well, let me tell you...I don't care," the vampiress giggled.

Jaden looked the card he just drew, then at his hand, "Maybe this will change your mind. I play Polymerization to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian (1000/1000), Sparkman (1600/1400), and Bubbleman (800/1200)...," he watched as his three Heroes appeared and became three different streams of colored light, "Allow me to introduce the Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800)!"

The three colored streams flew around and around until a single form appeared from them. Jaden's winged cyborgish Hero descended from the air, landing between him and Camula.

"What a way to start the duel!" Syrus exclaimed, looking up at the monster.

"Jaden wants to end this quickly," Bastion explained, "With Tempest out there, he might just do that,"

"I wouldn't count Camula out yet," Chazz muttered.

"Yes," Banner nodded, "After all, we've seen how strong her cards can be. Especially that Phantom Gate...,"

"I hope she doesn't get to play it," Alexis murmured.

Christina looked up at the vampiress' balcony, staring at Siho.

_Just hang on, buddy. Jaden's gonna get away from her..._ she thought, looking back to Jaden's side.

"I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn," Jaden inserted a card into his disk, "Now, show me what ya got!"

"If you're in such a hurry to lose...fine!" Camula drew her card and smiled when she saw what it was, "I play Phantom Gate!" she cried, holding up the card.

Jaden winced as the huge stone doorway appeared behind her and Siho, "I was afraid of that one...,"

"I'm sure you remember it's effects. To start, _all_ the monsters on the field are destroyed, then I get to summon any monster that you've played," Camula smiled as her necklace began to glow once again, "All I have to do for this, is pay a soul to the Legendary Demons should I happen to lose this duel. Now...," she looked down at the witnesses as the Gate opened up, "...who shall it be?"

The others began to cough as black smoke from the Phantom Gate wafted around them.

Camula raised her hand, rubbing the necklace gently, feeling it's power, "Oh dear me, the choices are so difficult. How about I just put all your friend's souls at stake?" she giggled.

"What?!" Jaden looked at his friends, then at the vampiress.

"_Never_ underestimate the power of the Shadow," Camula smiled, tapping her gold piece of jewelry, "With this necklace, I can do _anything_!"

Jaden grit his teeth, _Now what?_

Suddenly, a faint glow appeared. He looked down to see that the two halves that belonged to him and Atticus had combined into a complete pendant and was now glowing a bright golden light that pierced even the darkest recesses of the room.

Camula watched, astounded as the dark smoke from the Phantom Gate was pushed back away from the group, the Gate itself closing behind her.

"What's happening?!" Chazz yelled.

Alexis smiled widely, "Jaden's Shadow Charm canceled out the power of her necklace!" she cried happily.

"Just in time, too!" Bastion add, "I thought we were all done for!"

Camula screamed as the light blinded her.

_Thanks, Atticus...couldn't have done it without ya!_ Jaden looked back up at Camula, "If you still wanna use Phantom Gate, then you gotta do some soul searchin' without my friends! So how about you put that cheating card away and let's get on with this duel?"

"How about not?!" she hissed, "Phantom Gate, open your doors and accept _my_ soul and accept my soul as a sacrifice!"

_She's actually putting her own soul at risk?!_ Christina frowned, _Well...at least it's not Siho's._

"Now, unleash your power upon the field!"

Jaden was startled as the Gate opened up and a dark mist shot forth, crashing right into his own monster, destroying him.

"Tempest!"

"Oh don't worry, you'll be seeing him again soon enough," Camula smiled wickedly, "But he'll be fighting for _me_!"

The Phantom Gate closed up, but as soon as it did, Tempest returned, a bit darker looking than before, as if it was being covered by a veil of shadows. The Gate was open once more as the Hero reappeared.

"Now, I'll summon Zombie Werewolf (1200/1200) in attack mode!"

The familiar lycanthrope appeared alongside the turned Tempest, growling and drooling non-stop.

E-Hero Tempest (2800/2800)  
Zombie Werewolf (1200/1200)

"Now, Elemental Hero Tempest, attack Jaden!"

The converted Hero raised his arm blaster and shot a huge blast of blue energy at his former master. Jaden yelled in pain as the powerful blast flew through him, his body feeling the power.

**C: 4000  
J: 1200**

"I'm not done yet," Camula smiled again, "Zombie Werewolf att-," she stopped abruptly. Tempest was acting strangely. He was groaning in what seemed to be both pain and horror.

"Tempest, what's wrong?!"

Jaden grinned as his facedown card was lifted up to reveal two figures on it. One was a dark figure and one was a white figure.

"Guess he doesn't like his new boss, but you can forget the two week notice," he laughed, "I think I'll play my facedown card, Cross Heart! _That_ puts Tempest back on _my_ side!"

"What?!"

The Phantom Gate closed and Tempest returned back to Jaden's side of the field, the dark veil around him disappearing.

Camula scowled as the Gate faded away, "Go ahead and take him back, I'll still win!" she hissed.

Chazz smirked at the move, "Looks like Jaden's learned a few new tricks...," he mused.

"I hope so!" the Crowler doll muttered from within the confines of Chazz's pocket.

"Don't worry, there's more to come!" Jaden drew his next card, "Alright, time to teach that Werewolf pooch a few new tricks...like how to play dead!"

Tempest raised his blaster arm and fired off another beam of energy, this time hitting Zombie Werewolf, blasting him into smithereens.

**C: 2400  
J: 1200**

Camula growled, but kept her cool, "How quickly you forget. When Zombie Werewolf is destroyed, another one comes from my deck, stronger than the last one by 500 points!"

Her deck glowed and a second Werewolf appeared on the field, howling.

Zombie Werewolf (1700/1200)

Jaden looked at his hand, then inserted a card into his disk, "Maybe a facedown will tame him...," he thought aloud.

_Fool! You have much more to worry about than just him! This next turn should prove that! _Camula drew her next card, "I play the Spell Pot of Greed!" she drew two more cards from her deck. She looked at them and giggled, "Jaden...do you know what's worse than a vampire mistress?"

"Huh?" Jaden raised an eyebrow.

"A vampire mistress with a grudge. Goodbye my Werewolf!" she looked at her lycanthrope as it howled while it left the field, "I sacrifice you to summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500)...," she paused as her handsome royal vampire made his appearance, "But now, I shall remove him from the game to summon Vampire Genesis (3000/2100)!!"

For the third time since she arrived, Camula's powerhouse vampire, the same one that Zane and Crowler fought against, arrived.

"Did ya see that?!" Syrus whimpered.

"Yeah...," Chumley nodded.

Chazz growled, "3000 attack points...dammit!"

"As well as a powerful special ability," Bastion added, "Jaden will have his work cut out for him,"

"Next, I'll use the Spell card Genesis Crisis!" Camula declared as she inserted the card into her custom disk, "Now, once every turn, a Zombie-Type monster is transferred from my deck and into my hand," she plucked a card from the pile of cards on her disk, "With Vampire Genesis, I can discard _that_ monster in order to summon another one, as long as it's a lower level. So I'll be discarding Ryu Kokki (2400/2000) to bring back Vamp's best friend, Zombie Werewolf!"

As soon as it was said, the furry monster howled and appeared once more, next to Vampire Genesis.

Vampire Genesis (3000/2100)  
Zombie Werewolf (1200/1200)

"Now, if I recall, your Elemental Hero cannot be destroyed in battle, as long as you sacrifice one of the other cards on your field," she glanced at Jaden's facedown card, "Pity if something should happen to it. Like it disappearing thanks to my Giant Trunade!" she held up the other card she had drawn thanks to Pot of Greed.

A fierce wind picked up and blew Jaden's facedown card away and it appeared back into his own hand, as Camula's own Genesis Crisis returned to hers.

"How did she know to do that?" Syrus wondered.

Bastion frowned, "I don't know. Camula knows our decks better than anyone, and what's more, she's calculated a perfect strategy against them,".

"Hey, she's better at this than you were when you dueled Jaden to see who would be in the School Duel...," Christina said, glancing at Bastion, smiling slightly.

Jaden growled, "Isn't the villain supposed to the charming Hero how she did it? I mean, I'm all ears!"

Camula smiled widely as her eyes began to glow bright red, "You didn't think that my bats were just for show, did you? They've been spying on you and your friends!" she laughed coldly as bats fluttered around her, "Just as they told me the weaknesses of your pathetic Crowler and Zane, they also told me yours as well. You can't win!"

"Now...," she pointed to the opposing monster, "Vampire Genesis, destroy Elemental Hero Tempest with Crimson Storm!" she commanded.

Genesis roared and transformed into a cloud of dark mist that flew towards Jaden's monster. It wrapped itself around Tempest's body and soon, the Hero exploded, leaving Jaden defenseless.

Chazz grit his teeth, "So much for that Elemental Hero Tempest. Now Jaden's a sitting duck!"

"And I think that Werewolf likes duck you guys...," Syrus murmured fearfully.

"You're lucky he doesn't like shrimp, Truesdale," Christina cracked, earning a hurt look from the Slifer, "Aw c'mon, lighten up!"

Camula giggled as her Genesis returned to her, "You're through! Zombie Werewolf, attack Jaden directly!"

The furry monster howled and leapt at Jaden, swiping it's gleaming claws along the boy's chest. Jaden stumbled as the attack finished, but still managed to stand.

Camula frowned at this, "Well? Fall down! You should have no more Life Points left!"

Jaden lifted his head, both smiling and laughing, "Guess again, Camula!"

"How is this?!"

"Insurance is how," Jaden held up the card that was sent back to his hand, "When this card is sent back to my hand from the field, it's effect activates and I get 500 extra Life Points!"

**C: 2400  
J: 300**

Camula scowled, "How fortunate for you. However, you've just postponed the inevitable...," she took a card from her hand, "Once again, I activate the Spell card Genesis Crisis! Now, I'll add another Zombie monster from my deck to my hand...," she plucked out a card, "Ah, Despair from the Dark (2800/3000) will do,"

Alexis looked at her friend, "Jaden's hanging on, but Camula still has way more Life Points,"

Chazz nodded, "Shadow Charm or not, how could we ever let him duel Camula? He's just not at the top of his game! We might as well hand over our Spirit Keys now,"

"There's still hope. But I'll admit that with Vampire Genesis and that Genesis Crisis card, it's not that much hope,"

"Maybe we can reason with her," Banner suggested, "Perhaps we can get her connected with a local blood bank?"

"JADEN!"

Everyone else turned to see Christina gripping the railing in front of them. Her knuckles were turning white, meaning that she was holding onto it hard.

"JADEN!" she screamed, "HANG IN THERE! BEAT HER AND GET MY BEST FRIEND BACK! GET ZANE AND CROWLER BACK! SEND THAT UNDEAD BITCH BACK TO HELL WHERE SHE BELONGS!!"

Banner, Chazz, Chumley, Kristerr, Syrus and Bastion slowly backed away from the raging Slifer girl.

Jaden looked down at his friends and nodded, then turned back to the duel.

"Professor, as much as vampires may crave blood, I think _this_ one craves our Spirit Keys alot more...,"

"Pathetic mortal, you have no idea what I crave!" Camula snapped, "Centuries ago, the vampires were a proud and peaceful race. We lived in harmony with our mortal brothers and sisters. That is, until the Dark Times...until the War. No one knows who struck first, but the fighting was fierce. Neither a soldier nor child were spared as the horror as hatred dessimated both our peoples. I, the last of my race, had no choice but to go into hiding. For years I slept, a coffin as my home. Then, one day, a strange approached me, the dark power of the Shadow coursing through his body. He offered me a choice: to spend eternity hiding from the world, or to join him in his quest for the Legendary Demons...," Camula reached up and touched her golden necklace, "For each soul of every duelist I defeat in battle, I would be that much closer to resurrecting my defeated army of vampires, and we would suck our revenge from the bloated vein of humanity!"

Christina sweatdropped and leaned over to Chazz, "This chick not only obsesses about her past, but she just _loves_ to hear herself talk...," she muttered.

Chazz nodded slowly.

"Wow..._little_ too much information there," Jaden shifted in his place, "So, if I go down here, you'll get my Spirit Key and my soul to start an army of the undead?"

Camula smiled, "You're smart...for a _mortal_. Maybe you'll do the right thing for both of us and just give in, Jaden...I promise I'll make it painless for you," she offerd.

"Lady, if you think I'm gonna give up, you really have gone batty!"

"Boo!" Christina yelled, "Jaden, just duel and leave the humor to those who can do it!".

_First she's upset and wanting Siho back, now she's ragging on Jaden's jokes? _Alexis shook her head, _Talk about mood swings..._

_Alright, it all comes down to this. So here goes nothing! _Jaden drew his next card, "Sweet! I'm starting with my Pot of Greed. This allows me to draw two more cards!" he reached down and swiped two cards from his deck, "Next, I play Dark Factory of Mass Production! This allows me to take two normal monsters from my Graveyard and add them to my hand,".

Two cards appeared in Jaden's hand, glowing. He looked at his new hand, then took out another card from his hand as his Field tray popped open, "Next, I play the Field Spell card Fusion Gate! You can forget about Polymerization, because this card lets me Fusion Summon _without_ it!"

"He's got something big coming up...," Christina gripped the railing again, "C'mon...bring her down and bring Siho home!"

"Now, check it out...," Jaden held up two cards from his hand, "The Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix (1200/800) or should I say...," he paused as his two Heroes flew into the holographic vortex above them. Lightning flashed and moments later, his headliner monster came down, dragonhead arm and wings flapping.

"...the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!" Jaden took another card from his hand, "But that's not all, I fuse my Sparkman with Flame Wingman to make something even _better_!"

"_Two _Fusions?" Alexis breathed.

Kairi looked up at Kristerr, "Is that even possible?"

"Must be if Jaden's about to pull it off," the Obelisk murmured.

"With my Flame Wingman and my Sparkman, I create the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2000)!"

Camula hissed and covered her eyes as a bright light ripped through the darkness of her castle's ballroom. Everyone watched and Jaden smiled as a new monster appeared. Two long, metallic wings on it's back, and beautiful silvery armor covered it's legs, arms, chest and a matching helmet covered it's head, the entire suit of armor glowing brightly.

"Pretty...,"

Alexis waved her hand in front of Christina's face, then shook her head, "We lost her,"

Jaden grinned even more, "Alright, Shining Flare Wingman, let's go get our friends back!"

Camula scowled, squinting from the light, "_Flare_ Wingman? But you've never used that card in your deck before, you must be cheating! You put it in there when I wasn't looking, didn't you?!"

"Uh..._yeah_, but I'm not so sure that's cheating. I mean, hello Camula..._you_ had your bats spying on us and our decks," he shrugged, "I didn't even sneak the card in, anyhow,"

"You lie!"

Jaden scratched his head, "No, not really. I figured since you were all about the Shadows, I should pack something that's bright, like the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman...and boy is he," he held up a hand to keep a glare from his vision, "Check out that glow!"

Camula scowled, "Fine, use him. With only 2500 attack points, he won't defeat Vampire Genesis!"

"Actually, Camula, he _will_. You see, for each Elemental Hero that are just chillin' out in my Graveyard, Flare Wingman gains 300 attack points!"

"He's got Bubbleman, Tempest, Avian, Sparkman, and Burstinatrix...," Kairi counted on her fingers, "Wow...big boost,"

Kristerr shook his head, "Actually, since he used Sparkman, Burstinatrix and Avian with Fusion Gate, they're removed from play instead of in the Graveyard, so he's only got Tempest and Bubbleman," he grinned a little, "But that's still enough to take down the Genesis, because with those two Heroes in the Grave, he gets 600 more points!"

E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman (3100/2000)

"That means my Vampire...," Camula's eyes widened.

"...is about to bite the dust!" Jaden pointed to the Genesis monster, "Shining Flare Wingman, show this lady how we do things back at Duel Academy! Attack Vampire Genesis with Solar Flare!"

Shining Flare Wingman's bright aura began to glow brighter and brighter before he flew at the Genesis, fist aimed for the heart. The Hero crashed into the Vampire, blasting him to pieces with the power of the holyish light.

**C: 2300  
J: 300**

"Without Vampire Genesis on the field, every single Zombie-Type monster on your field are destroyed!"

Camula looked away as all her monsters exploded into nothing, but looked at Jaden as the smoke cleared, "Sorry, but it'll take more than that to kill a vampire!"

"Good, because I got more for ya!" Jaden grinned, "Flare Wingman's special power, and it's better than a wooden stake! When he destroys a monster in battle, you get dealt damage equal to that monsters attack points!"

"WHAT?!" Camula gasped as Flare Wingman appeared before her, "NO! IT CAN'T BE!"

Everyone watched as Camula screamed while the Flare Wingman illuminated the room once again, lighting every corner of the room, and dealing a massive amount of damage to Camula.

The Vampiress fell to her knees as the light died down. It was over...she had lost.

**C: 0  
J: 300**

"That's game!" Jaden did his two finger salute just as the Phantom Gate appeared behind Camula again, "Huh?"

The vampiress turned around as the Gate opened up, horrified as a huge spectral hand appeared and passed through her. The hand retreated back into the Gate and it closed up, leaving Camula and Siho on the balcony.

Camula's body slowly turned into dust and Siho stumbled around, the hold on his mind gone. Everyone gasped as the Slifer fell over the low railing of the balcony.

"Siho!"

"I got him!" Kristerr ran over and caught the Slifer before he landed hard on the floor.

Jaden looked back to the balcony and watched as a small figure amongst Camula's remains became large and familiar, "It's Zane!"

"Big Bro!" Syrus and the others ran over to help the Obelisk while Kairi and Christina went to help Kristerr with Siho.

Chazz rolled his eyes, "Bout time this is over with...," he mumbled just as he felt something heavy around his waist. He looked down and was terrified to see Crowler back to normal, hugging him around the stomach in gratitude.

"GET OFFA ME!"

"Finally, I'm out of that stinking pocket!" the head of Obelisk Blue sobbed.

Kristerr propped Siho into a sitting position and watched as the markings on his face disappeared. He nudged the Slifer a little, "Hey, boyo...yo,"

Kairi looked over Christina's shoulder, "Is he okay?" she asked worriedly.

Siho groaned and opened his eyes slowly. He blinked a few times then weakly lifted his arms into the air.

"I LOVE BOOBIES!"

Kairi fell over while Christina and Kristerr facefaulted.

"Yeah, he's okay," the female Slifer murmured as Siho fell back into Kristerr's arms, passed out.

Suddenly, as everyone was rejoicing at Jaden's victory, the entire castle began to shake violently. Jaden looked around, "what's going on?!" he shouted.

"Jaden!" Alexis screamed at him, "Since Camula was defeated, the castle is falling apart!"

Bastion hefted the unconcious Kaiser over one shoulder while Chumley took his other shoulder, "We've got to get out of here, let's go!" he shouted.

-----

Everyone made it out safely and watched from the lakeside as Camula's castle crumbled into nothingness, leaving a huge cloud of dirt rising into the air. Shortly after, the clouds disappeared and the sun shined brightly in the sky.

-----

Miss Fontaine noticed the change in the light and looked out the window while Atticus smiled.

"Jaden...you did it," he said weakly, "Good job...,"

-----

Alexis looked up at the beautiful morning sky, smiling, "At last, the nightmare is over...,"

"This one at least...," Jaden looked to the side to see Bastion holding out Camula's Shadow Charm necklace, "Camula was the second of the Shadow Riders which means more are on the way," he reached over and took the Charm, "We gotta be ready you guys...,"

Siho groaned and held his head as he came back to conciousness. He looked around to see Kairi and Christina jumping up and down around Chazz, annoying him in their gleeful moment. Kristerr was kneeling over him.

"Glad to see you're no longer a mindless zombie, Zolaro," the Obelisk greeted.

Siho blinked, "That what happened?" he asked, rubbing his head, "The last thing I remember is Camula staring me down while she dueled Crowler. Then I wake up and I find myself ontop of you for some reason,"

"You fell off a balcony and nearly broke your neck,"

"Really? Wow...," Siho climbed to his feet slowly, "Thanks for catching me,"

"No problem,"

"But there's something I've noticed,"

Kristerr raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

Siho looked back at Kairi, then turned to Kristerr, arms crossed, "I swear, that when I was on ya, I felt something that felt like-,"

Kristerr cut him off and pulled him close to him, a serious look on his face.

"Now, you listen to me...," he hissed, "Do _not_ say one more word. If you breathe this to anyone, I swear, I will make your life a living hell,"

Siho's eyes widened, "You mean that-,"

"Yes...," Kristerr let go of him, "You can't tell anyone, okay? _Especially_ Kairi!"

"I think she deserves to know considering how much she likes you...,"

"I know, but I can't. Look, if I tell you what's going on, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Siho looked at him, then at Kairi again, then sighed, "Fine...I won't tell. But this better be good,"

-----

"First Nightshroud, then Caina, and now Camula,"

"These kids can pack a punch, don't they, boss?"

"It seems that we've got our work cut out for us. Every next Rider is more powerful than the last, big guy. They won't survive. The Demons will be won...,"

"What about the other target?"

"...it's only a matter of time,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Whew...second Shadow Rider is down and out, the guys are back to normal, and we got to see a new Elemental Hero come out from Jaden's deck! Talk about a kickass duel, huh? Catch ya later, guys, ja ne!**


	49. Spirits, Dragons, and a Partner

**Spirits, Dragons, and a Partner**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: to those who know what this chapter is about...let the fangirls prepare for their screams and squeals.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So...remind me again, why we're going to the wading pool?"

Siho walked alongside Jaden, Syrus and Chumley, towel around his neck.

"Because," Syrus leaned in and lowered his voice, "Something happened with Jaden last night. He had a really bad dream and he's been moody ever since,"

_Is that all? Geez, wish my nightmares could be washed away with a nice dip in a pool _Siho thought bitterly as they passed through a drop-curtain labeled **POOL ENTRANCE.**

After changing and grabbing some pool gear, the four Slifers made their way towards the huge body of water, surrounded by potted trees, waterfalls, and large boulders that dotted the area.

Syrus placed a yellow innertube around his waist, then ran off a large rock, landing into the water, nothing but a towel around his waist. He sank, then surfaced, a smile on his face as he shook his head, enjoying the refreshing dip.

"Oh, yeah, this is the life!" he turned and looked up to see Jaden, Chumley and Siho looking down on him, smiling at his antics, "I mean, can it get any better than this?"

"Yeah...," Jaden grinned, "Like if you hadn't jumped in with your towel,"

Syrus turned back around to see his once fluffy towel floating in front of him, completely soaked. Now, save for his inner-tube, he was in his birthday suit.

"Aw man...that was dryer fresh!"

-----

"Hey, Jaden, c'mon over here, the water's really warm over by Syrus!"

"Uh...no thanks, Chumley. I'm fine over here,"

"Jaden, you finally over that bad dream of yours?" Syrus asked.

Jaden sighed and sat against a large rock while Chumley glared at Syrus.

"What, I only ask because I care!" the short Slifer said defensively, "Sorry, Jay...,"

"Yeah...," Jaden sighed again and sank beneath the water.

Syrus leaned forward a bit, "Jay?"

"Way to go, Syrus...," Chumley muttered before Syrus let out a surprised gasp.

A short distance behind them, Jaden resurfaced, holding up something.

"Hey, guys, look what I got...," he called out teasingly.

Syrus turned around and started doggie-paddling towards his roommate, "Gimme back my towel, Jaden!"

"Yours?" Jaden laughed as he backstroked away from his friend, "Naw, yours was dryer fresh, this one's a wet mess!"

"You'll be messing with me if you don't give it back!"

All of a sudden a wave of ice cold water hit Syrus in the face, causing the poor Slifer to stop chasing after his friend. He, Chumley and Jaden turned to see who it was.

Chazz sat on a nearby rock, small water bucket in his hand, legs crossed.

"Take a chill pill, shortstack," he snapped.

Jaden waved as he treaded water, "Hey, what's new...Chazz-a-roo?"

"Cute...," Chazz rolled his eyes as he set the bucket down next to him.

"Aw, thanks," Jaden rubbed the back of his head, "So why're you here, you come out to hang with us?"

Chazz scoffed and looked away, "Please, like I'd waste my time with you losers. I just came to relax,"

"Hey, guys!"

Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley looked up at the rock behind Chazz, who turned around at the voice. They all screamed at what they saw ontop of the rock.

Siho stood there, proudly, hands on his hips and towel over his shoulder, and a huge smile on his face.

"For the love of God, Zolaro, what are you doing up there?!" Chazz screamed, placing the bucket over his head for protection.

"I'm securing my place as the king!"

"King?" Jaden looked at Chumley who shrugged.

"I'm the King of the Rock, and to prove it, I'm showing off the courage to reveal my glorious god-like body to you all, not one part of it hidden by a damn thing!" Siho cried as he began to swerve his hips around and around.

_SPLAT!_

"OH GOD! I CAN'T SEE!" Siho clutched his face after a large wet towel smacked him in the face, "ASSASSIN!!! TOWELIE'S GETTING HIS VENGEANCE!"

Everyone remained silent as Siho fell into the pool in between Chazz and the rest of them, splashing them all.

Chazz shook his head, "Idiot...,"

-----

Jaden seperated himself from the others as Chazz and Chumley went after Syrus. Siho had decided to cover himself up and was now floating around lazily, taking in the soothing heat of the pool area.

Ever since last night, Jaden had been preoccupied with disturbing thoughts and memories of the last few duels against the Shadow Riders. Zane lost his soul and became a doll, Nightshroud became sealed within a card when he was beaten and Atticus was freed, and now Camula had her soul taken by her own Phantom Gate.

_With all that's been happening lately, it's no wonder I had that dream..._ Jaden thought as he sank beneath the water, remembering the dream. He was in a duel against a dark figure and they were both low on points, his Wildheart on the field.

His Elemental Hero attacked his opponent, but he didn't win. A huge form appeared out of the darkness and fired off a blast of bright blue and white energy at Jaden, blasting his Life Points to nothing. To make it worse, he had seen Syrus, Chumley, Chrissy, Kairi and Siho taken into a blaze of blue fire before he himself was covered by a mass of living, black slime.

Jaden rose back to the surface and watched as Chumley, Syrus and Siho began to play three-way Keep Away from Chazz, tossing his own towel back and forth while the irritated Key-Keeper swam back and forth to get it.

"Dueling used to be about fun, but now it's all about _winning_, because if I lose, I'll be losing alot more than just a game...,"

A cooing made Jaden look over his shoulder. Through the steam of the water, he could swear he saw his spirit partner call out to him.

"Winged Kuriboh?"

Kuriboh hooted and flew out of sight, Jaden swimming after him, leaving his towel behind him.

-----

After sometime, Syrus and Chumley came to where they last saw Jaden while Siho continued to play Keep Away with Chazz.

"Jay?" Syrus looked at the towel, getting a bad feeling.

Chumley looked around, "Where'd he go?" he asked, before seeing something off to the side, "Huh?"

Like Jaden, Chumley swore that he saw a familiar Duel Monster, this one being a large Koala monster, running through the pool water.

Chumley rubbed his eyes and started to swim to where he last saw it, "Des Koala??"

"Hey...," Syrus turned as his friend swam away, "Chum...,"

-----

"Finally," Chazz wringed his towel a little after putting it back on, "This place should be a Kiddy Pool for those slackers...or at least wet 'em down with a hose,".

Siho shook his head as he climbed onto a rock, his towel around his waist, "_Yeah..._using a hose to wet people down...in a _pool_, yeah, that's not pointless," he laughed.

"Even though he has a point, I'm with ya boss!"

Chazz growled and batted away Ojama Yellow, "You're not with me!" he spat as the spirit landed in the water.

"You know, just because he's annoying, doesn't mean you should hit 'im,"

Chazz slowly turned and looked at Siho, then pointed to the dark blob underneath the water, "You tellin' me you can _see...him_?!"

Siho nodded before cracking his neck, "Oh yeah...plain as day. Does that surprise you? Jaden can see Winged Kuriboh, and you can see an Ojama...," he shrugged, "Not that big a deal,"

"Not that big a deal?!" Chazz shrieked, "It's a big deal if you can see things that most people can't?!" he looked around, "So where's yours?!"

Siho grinned, "If you're referring to a spirit partner, I don't have one...I just see the spirits is all,"

Ojama Yellow surfaced, water dripping from his eyestalks, "Feel better, Boss?"

"I'd feel better if you just left me alone!" Chazz snapped, turning away, irritated.

Ojama Yellow smiled widely, "Aw, it's ok. I gotta get goin' for the Spirit Festival anyway...,"

Both Siho and Chazz looked at the spirit, the same question in their minds.

_Spirit Festival...?_

"Hey, who's the guy in the cape?" Ojama asked, pointing behind Siho.

-----

Jaden, wearing a spare towel he had picked up from the banks, walked to a secluded part of the wading pool, an area that was almost surrounded by large walls. He looked around, having lost track of his buddy, "Kuriboh?"

He took a step forward, but just as his foot came down, he sank like a stone through the water. Whatever was happening to him, he was sinking into an area that was way deeper that any part of the pool should be.

For most of his descent, Jaden could only see the dark depths of the water until finally he landed on something hard. He yelled, then stopped, realizing that he actually _could_ yell. If he was still under water, he couldn't or wouldn't be shouting at all.

He looked around to find that he was now in a large cave area.

"What the...who the...?" he checked himself and found that he wasn't in a towel anymore, but he wasn't naked. He was wearing his usual clothes with his Slifer Red blazer as well as an Academy duel disk on his arm.

He looked up and screamed at what he saw ahead of him. Duel Monsters, not cards nor holograms, were staring at him, scared half to death because of his scream.

"Uh...hey there," he waved a little at them, calming down a bit, "My name's Jaden. Sorry for dropping in...or dropping _out_, or whatever.

A high whistling sound made Jaden look up. Above him was a large hole, the obvious entrance that he fell through. He could see four dark shapes coming down fast upon him.

"Head's up!" Jaden scrambled out of the way just as four invisible things landed hard, sending up clouds of dirt into the air.

"What's goin' on here?!"

Jaden watched as the cloud cleared and saw that Chumely, Chazz, Siho and Syrus had joined him, fully dressed. But they weren't alone.

Chazz had his Ojama Yellow with him, this time, not see through.

A large Des Koala sat behind Syrus, munching on leaves from it's pouch, looking very real and solid.

Finally, a handsome pale man with blue hair, wearing dark clothes and a cape stood at Siho's side.

Syrus felt around the dirt, "My glasses...anyone seen my glasses, I can't see a thing without them!"

Hearing a grunt behind him, Syrus turned and saw a familiar, rounded blur hand him his glasses. Syrus smiled as he took them, placing them on his face as he turned, "Thanks Chumley...,"

"We're in some kind of spirit world!" Chumley said excitedly, looking at all the Duel Monsters.

Syrus blinked, "Wait a minute...if Chumley is _there_," he pointed to the Slifer, "Then who's...," he slowly turned around and yelped, "Des Koala?!"

Siho spat out the dirt he had taken in on the impact, "Dude...what da hell...,"

"Need help?" a smooth voice asked him.

Siho looked up and stared at the pale man in front of him, "Who...da...hell...,"

Chaaz, Syrus, Chumley and Jaden turned and yelped at the man in the cape.

"I don't believe it!"

"What's one of those things doing here?!"

Siho looked at them as the man pulled him to his feet, "What's up guys?"

Syrus raised a shaking finger to the stranger, "R-remember that duel Jaden had with Camula and she had those Vampire monsters?"

"Yeah...,"

"Well that's Vampire Lord...one of Camula's monsters!"

Siho snapped his head to the caped man, then backed away, "Oh, crap...,"

"Baa...,"

"Baa?" Siho looked down to see four differently colored lambs coming up to him.

One sheep was blue, another was orange, the third was red, and the fourth one was orange.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Siho screamed at the top of his lungs and sped off through the crowd of Duel Spirits, causing them to move away from fear.

Jaden stared at his friend as he ran off screaming, the four lambs following him, "What...just happened?"

Chazz shrugged and looked at the crowd of Spirits, "Looks like a ton of Duel Monster cards come alive...,"

"Cool huh?" Ojama Yellow asked, shaking his moneymaker again.

Jaden managed to tear himself from the screams of his friend and the constant 'baaing' of the Scapegoats and look at the other spirits, "This is bizarre...,"

"Who are you calling _bizarre_?" a new voice snapped.

Everyone looked to the side to see an impressive figure standing there, arms folded and a smug look on his face.

The figure was male, wore black pants and a shirt, along with a long, white, sleeveless trenchcoat, topped off with a strange, dragonhead-like mask, his long red hair flowing behind him.

**(Author's Note: and let the fangirls scream...for this is close enough to one of their fave bishies)**

"It's Kaibaman!" Ojama Yellow shouted happily.

"Kaibaman?" Jaden rose to his feet, "As in Kaibaman, the Duel Monster card? Wait, so are you the one who brought us all here, the one who's in charge of this place?" Jaden scowled, "Or is this all some Shadow Rider trick?!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kaibaman didn't seem phased as Siho ran by them again, closely followed by the lambs.

"You ask a lot of questions," he noted, smiling, "but I'm afraid you won't be getting any answers...unless you take me on in a duel, that is," Kaibaman held up his left arm to show a strange disk attached to his arm. It wasn't like Camula's but the guys knew it looked custom made.

"WHY ARE YOU GUYS JUST STANDING THERE, HELP ME!"

Kaibaman growled and held out his arm just as Siho ran towards them. The arm connected with Siho's neck and the screaming Slifer's legs went up, shortly followed by the Slifer falling on his back, hard.

"Ow...,"

"Baa...baa...,"

Siho looked up to see the lambs coming back, then scampered over to his friends, not even taking notice of the Vampire Lord again, "Keep them away from me!"

While Siho was freaking out, Jaden held out his arm and his own disk whirred to life, the tray spreading outward.

"By the looks of you, I'd say you accept my challenge, but from what I _sense_, I'm not so sure...," Kaibaman grinned slightly, "I sense fear...,"

Syrus pointed to the freaking out Siho as he climbed onto Chumley's back, waving his arm at the lambs, "You sure that's not _him_, you're sensing?" he asked.

Kaibaman shook his head, then looked at Jaden, "The fear I sense comes from you, and it's deep fear. Fear that your friends will pay most dearly!"

"What's that guy-ow!" Chumley winced as Siho planted himself firmly above his head, "What's this guy talking about?"

"This isn't about your dream last night, is it, Jay?" Syrus asked in a whisper.

Chazz scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Look, if you're all scared, then _I'll_ duel him,"

Jaden slowly shook his head, a look of determination plastered on his face.

Kaibaman chuckled, "Not backing down? Then, you can look forward to facing _this _card," the Spirit held up a card. The card in his showed a mighty dragon with white scales and azure-colored eyes.

Jaden's eyes widened at the card, "The...the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he gasped.

Chazz frowned, "That's one powerful beast. On second thought, I think I'll sit this one out,"

"Oh man...," Syrus shook his head.

"Can we go back to the pool now?" Chumley whined.

"BLUE EYES?! MINE!" Siho rose to full height, putting more pressure on Chumley's back, and was about to jump for it, but noticed the lambs were between him and the card. He looked at the goats, then curled up into a ball again.

"Can't jump, goats will eat me. Can't jump, goats will eat me. Can't jump, goats will eat me,"

_This guy keeps getting stranger and stranger..._ Chumley thought as his friends' nails dug into his blazer, _Heavier too..._

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost, Jaden," Kaibaman taunted, waving the card around a little.

"Try a nightmare...," Jaden hissed through his teeth, "but still, I won't run!" he declared, holding up his disk.

Kaibaman smiled a bit at the Slifer while more and more Spirits surrounded them, sensing something big was going to happen.

"Now, Kaibaman," Jaden stepped forward, disk and deck at the ready, "Let's give these monsters a good show,"

"Let's duel!" they both shouted as they drew their hands.

**K: 4000  
J: 4000**

**(Author's Notes: K and J initials for duels...reminds me of Joey and Kaiba back in the good ol' days...oh well, back to the chapter)**

"Alright then, here goes!" Jaden drew his sixth card, only to slap it onto his disk, "First, I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Jaden's white caped Hero appeared, posing heroically as he aimed his glove hose at Kaibaman.

"Oh, and if Bubbleman's summoned out, and he's the only monster I have on the field, I get to draw two more cards! Pretty sweet, huh?" Jaden asked s he took his new cards from the top of his deck. He looked at them, then slipped one into his disk, "Especially this one! I play the Equip Spell card Bubble Blaster!"

A large cannon with a big water tank on top appeared and landed on top of Bubbleman's shoulders, causing the Hero to kneel down.

"Lishus!" Chumley smiled, "That gives Bubbleman 800 extra attack points!"

E-Hero Bubbleman (1600/1200)

"I'll call it a turn with that," Jaden said with a slight grin.

Chazz folded his arms as he watched the duel, _Rumors are that Kaibaman was created by Kaiba himself. This could be tough..._

_Talk about dreams coming true, _Jaden thought as he stared down his opponent, _Last night, I dreamt about a Blue Eyes, and now, he's got one! I just hope this doesn't end the same way my nightmare did..._ he glanced at his friends, imagining them in pain surrounded by blue flames, _...with my friends in deep trouble because I failed. I have to win!_

"Wishing you could back out now? Too late. My move!" Kaibaman drew his card and smiled at what he just drew, "I summon forth, myself, Kaibaman (200/700)!!"

Syrus blinked and rubbed his eyes as a second Kaibaman appeared, "Whoa..I'm seeing double!"

"And trouble...," Chazz added.

"Now, I'll sacrifice him to bring out the one, the only...,"

Jaden gasped, knowing what was coming, "Not _him_...,"

"You better believe it's him!" Kaibaman laughed as he held up a card from his hand, "I summon the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!!!"

Every monster took shelter behind rock formations as a fierce wind picked up just as the second Kaibaman disappeared.

"Feast your eyes on the beast that will feast on your soul!" Kaibaman screamed as the huge and powerful ivory dragon appeared above him, letting out an almighty bellow as it stretched it's wings to their full extent.

"Our souls?!" Jaden cried in disbelief.

"This could be a really _short _duel," Chazz murmured.

Syrus stared at the beast, "3000 attack points?!"

"Yes, and you'll see them all in action! Blue Eyes, destroy Bubbleman!" Kaibaman ordered, pointing to the Hero, "White Lightning.

Blue Eyes opened it's mouth and fired off it's signature attack, a stream of bluish-white electrical energy. The powerful blast engulfed Bubbleman completely, obscuring him from the other's sight.

"Hold it, Kaibaman!" Jaden yelled over the attack, "Since my Bubbleman is equipped with Bubble Blaster, the Blaster takes the hit and my Bubbleman is safe!"

"So Jaden doesn't take any damage," Syrus thought aloud.

Chumley nodded, "Yeah, but since the Equip Spell is gone, Bubbleman's attack points go back to normal. Which, isn't good when you're facing down a Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

E-Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)

"Alright, my turn again!" Jaden drew his card, "Now, I'll be turning two monsters into one. I play Polymerization to fuse my Bubbleman and my Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) to create the Elemental Hero Mudball Man (1900/3000) in defense mode!"

Jaden's round monster with the body of Clayman and the head of Bubbleman landed in front of him, kneeling and arms crossed protectively.

"Take that!" Jaden challenged.

"No, I'll take _this_!" Kaibaman drew his card, "I play the Spell card Pot of Greed! This let's me draw two more cards," he reached down and drew his new cards, "But, I'll only need _one_. I play the Spell card, Burst Stream of Destruction!"

Jaden blinked, confused, "Isn't that an attack that the Blue Eyes uses?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah," Chazz nodded, "But what's the deal with it being a card?"

"You're about to find out," Kaibaman smirked, "You see, I can only activate this card when a Blue Eyes is out, but since he is, I can use it to destroy all your monsters!"

"What?!"

"Go!" Kaibaman pointed ahead, "Destroy Mudball Man with Burst Stream of Destruction!"

Another orb of crackling energy appeared out of Kaibaman's Spell card and flew through the air, striking Mudball Man hard in the chest. The Fusion Hero screamed before exploding, creating a big cloud of smoke.

"No!" Chumley cried out.

"With that blast, Jaden doesn't have a monster and when Blue Eyes attacks...," Syrus grabbed his head, "Oh man...,"

Chazz scoffed, "Read the fine print, slackers. On the turn that Burst Stream of Destruction is played, Blue Eyes White Dragon _can't_ attack,"

"It won't matter...," Kaibaman said as he slapped a card onto his field, "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000)!"

A horrifying, disfigured monster with countless limbs and hands appeared on the field, snarling at Jaden.

"Now, he'll lend _me_ a hand," Kaibaman said jokingly, "Because when he's summoned, he allows me to take a Ritual Monster or a Ritual Spell card from my deck and add it to my hand...," he fanned out his deck and scanned through it until plucking one out, "But it won't stay in my hand for long, because I'll be playing it. I play the Ritual card known as White Dragon Ritual! I sacrifice my Manju to summon Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200)!"

In Manju's place, hovering above Kaibaman, a man in white armor carrying a lance appeared, sitting on top of a small pale dragon, ready to battle.

"Like I said, it won't matter that Blue Eyes can't attack this turn, because with Paladin, he doesn't need to! He'll fill in for Blue Eyes just fine," Kaibaman shrugged slightly, "Sure, it's not a Dragon, but he's managed to tame one, and in my book that's tough enough!" he pointed to the exposed Slifer, "Now, Paladin of White Dragon, attack with Ionic Spear Burst!"

The smaller Dragon roared and flew at Jaden as the armored rider reared back it's lance while a small twisting aura appeared around it. Jaden yelled as the attack went right through him, knocking away his points.

**K: 4000  
J: 2100**

"Jaden!" Syrus shouted.

"I'm not done yet," Kaibaman went on as his Paladin returned to him, "By sacrificing my Paladin of White Dragon, I can summon a monster from my hand or deck, and it's one you're already quite familiar with! Care to guess _which_, Jaden?" he taunted.

Jaden grit his teeth, "Actually..._no_,"

"Let me give you some hints then," Kaibaman said as his Paladin disappeared, "It's got blue eyes...white scales...," he grinned as another great Dragon appeared next to his first one, "The Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"_Another_?!" Jaden looked up at the new arrival.

"This is bad!" Syrus yelped, "Dealing with _one_ was bad enough! Now Jaden's gotta face _two_?!"

"That card created by Kaiba is a chip off the old block," Chazz muttered, "Jaden better hope that that deck of his isn't an exact copy, or else he's in for it!"

Kaibaman folded his arms as his second Dragon stopped flapping it's wings, "It's your move, Jaden...,"

"About time. Now," Jaden drew his card, "First, I'll play Monster Reincarnation!

"Lishus!" Chumley smiled, "By discarding a card from his hand, he can bring back a monster from the Grave!"

"Goodbye Elemental Hero Necroshade (1600/1800)...," Jaden slipped the card into his Graveayard, then pulled another one out, "...and hello Elemental Hero Clayman!"

"Going to try behind _that_ puny monster again? Pathetic," Kaibaman scoffed.

"No way!" Jaden snapped, "I don't have to hide anymore! Even though I'm glad to have Clayman back, I'm even happier to see Necroshade in my Graveyard, because with him there, I can Special Summon a high-level monster _without_ a sacrifice!" he slapped the card onto his disk, "And the one I choose is the Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/2200)!"

Syrus frowned as Jaden's golden Hero appeared, "But as strong as Bladedge is, he's still no match for those Blue Eyes White Dragons!" he whimpered, turning to the beasts.

"Don't be so sure!" Jaden cried as his end tray popped open and he placed a card into it, "I play the Field Spell card Skyscraper!"

The ground shook violently as tall buildings popped out of the ground and surrounded the two duelists and their monsters.

"With _this_ out, if Bladedge takes on a stronger monster, he gains an extra 1000 attack points!" Jaden explained, "That's just enough to edge out your Blue Eyes!"

E-Hero Bladedge (3600/2200)

"Now, Bladedge, attack with Slice 'n Dice Attack!"

The golden Hero soared past the first Blue Eyes, it's arm blade cutting deep into the Dragon's neck, letting a bright light pour out of the wound before the Dragon exploded. Kaibaman grunted as he was surrounded by the smoke of his fallen Dragon, his points wounded.

**K: 3400  
J: 2100**

"Wow...Jaden _actually_ did it...," Chazz stared at the Slifer, surprised.

Jaden slipped a card into his disk, "I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn," he grinned as his Bladedge came back, "...and to think, I was worried I'd lose. Well, not anymore!"

Kaibaman smirked, "Is that so?"

"For sure!" Jaden nodded, "I'm so over my fear! The trick is to take what your fear does and not let it happen!"

"_Not_ let it happen? Anything could happen...,"

"Huh?"

"You actually think because you beat _one_ Blue Eyes, you've won this duel, you've avoided the defeat that you fear? Think again! You're a long way from winning this contest and Blue Eyes is a long way from being beat!"

"I don't believe you!"

"It's true, like it not. The fate of you and the fate of your friends still hang in the balance You have to _accept_ that and face it head on!"

Jaden frowned, "What _is_ this?"

"_This_ is what dueling is all about! Not afraid of the thought of defeat, but to be always prepared to accept it. That is the _nature_ of dueling, and it is high time that you learn it!" Kaibaman drew his card, "I play Silent Doom! With it, I can bring back a Blue Eyes from my Graveyard!" he explained as his Dragon returned by his side, "Next, I'll play Polymerization!"

"Uh oh...," Jaden gulped.

"It _is_ the same!" Chazz gasped.

Siho stared on, now oblivious to the lambs jumping up and down around Chumley, _This...is...awesome. The birth of the great Dragon that graced Duelist Kingdom and Battle CIty... _he smiled, _Oh man, I can't wait to tell Chrissy **this**!_

"What's the same?" Syrus asked, turning to Chazz.

"Kaibaman's deck," his fellow Slifer explained, "It's the same deck as Seto Kaiba's,"

Jaden glanced at Chazz, then back at the duel, "Then that means...,"

"It means I have another Blue Eyes!" Kaibaman roared gleefully, "It also means I can fuse every single one of my three Blue Eyes White Dragons to call upon the almighty and the powerful, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!!!"

Everyone gasped as the three Blue Eyes White Dragons swirled into a bright, glowing orb, only to emerge into a great three-headed behemoth.

"Allow me to introduce the most powerful, mighty and devastating Dragon of them all!" Kaibaman raised his arm to the sky, pointing to the newly born monster.

Jaden stared at the behemoth as images from the night before came back to him. The beast that fired blue flames at him from the shadowy recesses of the duel...it was this!

"The monster from my dream! It_ can't _be!"

"It can be, and it _is_!" Kaibaman snapped at him, "And it gets even worse. That dream you dreamt? It will now become a reality!"

"Quick, Jaden!" Siho leaned forward, pushing down on Chumley's head, "Jump onto the Hydra's back!" **(1)**

"Now, go! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack with Neutron Blast!" Kaibaman ordered.

Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "Go, Trap card! Edge Hammer! By sacrificing Bladedge, I get to destroy one of your monsters, and you take damage equal to that monsters attack points!"

Bladedge flew into the three seperate torrents of energy from the Neutron Blast, blades glowing like no other.

"You said I should be afraid of losing?" Jaden shook his head as the three-headed monster was engulfed into a huge cloud of smoke, "I don't think so!"

The bystanders held up their arms to protect their eyes from the smoke and dust from the shockwave.

"He did it!" Syrus whooped.

"Way to go!" Chumley cheered.

"No way!" Chazz cried in disbelief.

"BOOYA!" Siho screamed, "Kaibaman, you got knocked the f-," he stopped in midsentence as Kaibaman's form appeared through the smoke, "Huh...?"

"If you won't _accept_ defeat," Kaibaman held up the card he managed to play before the blast, "I guess I'll have to _force_ it on you,"

Jaden's eyes went wide as he saw the image on the card, "De-Fusion?!"

"That's right. This reverts my Fusion monster back to it's normal pre-Fusion form, so welcome back the three Blue Eyes White Dragons!" Kaibaman smirked wider, "Since Edge Hammer's target wasn't there anymore, it swung and miss! Something that my Blue Eyes won't be doing! Go, my Dragons, attack with White Lightning!"

Jaden was hit dead on with three seperate White Lightning blasts. On contact, the field exploded, sending up a huge cloud of smoke as both Kaibaman laughed and Skyscraper disappeared.

"No!"

"Jaden!"

"What gives?!"

**K: 3400  
J: 0**

-----

Jaden opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground of the Spirit Cave, Winged Kuriboh hovering nearby.

"Syrus! Chumley! Siho!" Jaden scrambled to his feet, and looked around, only to find that his friends were just fine. They seemed nervous to be around the multiple Duel Monsters, except Chazz and Siho. Chazz seemed to be annoyed by them, while Siho was still freaking out about the Scapegoats, swinging his Slifer blazer at them, hoping to keep them at bay, Vampire Lord standing behind him.

Suddenly, pain shot through Jaden's chest and the Slifer winced, holding it, still feeling the damage from the combined power of the Blue Eyes. Kaibaman walked up to him, arms folded across his chest.

"Defeat is nothing to be scared of, Jaden," he grinned a little, "What matters is that you can get up after,"

Jaden looked up at him, "Wait, so you're telling me that this whole thing was just a test?!"

"Tell me, are you afraid _now_?"

"Actually...," Jaden stopped and thought about it for a few moments, "No, I'm really not,"

"Then, do you know _why_?" Kaibaman asked, "Because you faced it. You lost and you're okay,"

Jaden nodded, taking the words in, "Yeah...I am, huh?"

Kaibaman turned his head as Jaden's friends came running up to him, "So are your friends,"

Jaden turned to his posse, "Guys, I think I'm finally over my bad dream!" he said with a grin.

Chazz crossed his arms, "Yeah, well I'm over this place. Can we please get out of this Spirit Cave? It's way low-rent,"

"Yes, please!" Siho looked back at the lambs, pale as a ghost, "_Vamanos, senor!_"

"Uh...Kaibaman?" Jaden turned around, "Think you can help us out here...huh?"

Kaibaman wasn't there anymore.

Everyone looked around the cave.

"Where'd he go?" Chumley asked.

"There!" Siho pointed behind Jaden, towards a thick mist that seemed to fill the cave. Everyone watched as the fading form of Kaibaman walked away.

"If you want a way outta here, ask your friend Kuriboh," Kaibaman looked over his shoulder at them, "After all, _he's_ the one that brought you here," he turned back and started walking away, "Goodbye, Jaden...,"

Kuriboh flew between the boys and hooted quickly and loudly.

Jaden stared at his partner, "Really, Kuriboh? Just close our eyes and wish for it?"

Kuriboh hooted again.

"Ok...," Jaden closed his eyes, and his friends followed suit.

"I really wanna go back home!" Syrus pleaded.

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home...," Siho whispered.

"I hope to God you're not clicking your heels together, Zolaro," Chazz snapped.

"Hey, you try outrunning four evil goats for awhile!" Siho shot back, "Besides, it worked for Dorothy in that movie!"

"Dork...,"

"_Klatu, Verata, Nikto! Klatu, Verata, Nikto!_"

"Now what are you doing?!"

"What, you've never seen Army of Darkness?"

-----

"This is the first time I've left the wading pool feeling more tense than I did when I came in!" Syrus laughed as he and the others crossed the bridge while the sun set, "It's good to be back where monsters like Des Koala and Winged Kuriboh are just cards, right guys?"

What Syrus didn't know was that Des Koala was walking behind Chumley, back in it's spirit form, while Kuriboh flapped it's small wings near Jaden's head.

"I know what I know, Kuriboh," Jaden turned to his friend, "I know who I owe a big fat thank you to...,"

Kuriboh hooted happily.

"Oh, by the way Sy," Jaden turned back to his friends, "I still got your towel!!"

"What?! Give it!"

"Sure!"

_SNAP!_

"OW! HEY!"

Siho smiled at his friends antics, "Well, at least I'm not with those murderous goats anymore. Though, I can't help but wonder...why was there a Vampire Lord in the cave?"

"It's simple...I'm your partner, just as Kuriboh is Jaden's and Ojama Yellow is Chazz's," a familiar voice whispered in his ear.

Siho, startled by the voice, almost jumped out of his skin, then turned to see Vampire Lord walking beside him, cape wrapped around him.

"Hey, aren't vampires supposed to burn in the sunlight?"

Vampire Lord shrugged as he hovered off of the ground, "I guess we Spirits have advantages...,"

Siho rolled his eyes, "Why are you here with me anyway? You guys were supposed to be gone when Jaden beat Camula,"

Vampire Lord nodded, "Normally, we would've disappeared with her, but we serve another master...another purpose,"

Siho stopped in his tracks and stared at the spirit, "Say...what?"

"Check your deck,"

Silent, Siho pulled out and fanned out his deck. His eyes widened to see some cards that was new to him.

"What gives?! I didn't have these before!"

Vampire Lord nodded, "Yes. Mistress Camula had a few copies, and gave them to power up your deck. I," he bowed his head, smiling, "am an added bonus,"

"Oh, c'mon!" Siho shoved his deck back into it's case, "This is gettin' ridiculous! First, I run into a weird chick who belonged to another group of Shadow Riders, then apparently, I get abducted and brainwashed by a hot vampire chick, _now_ I have cards I've never seen before, as well as a Vampire Lord for a Spirit Partner!?"

"Yes,"

"_WHY?!_"

Vampire Lord chuckled before fading out of sight, "The answer will come in due time...it will come in due time,"

Siho looked around, not seeing a trace of the Vampire monster.

"Dude, this place is messed up...,"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: WHEW! Uber duel ish done! i had fun with this...ok, few things.**

**(1) this line, is well-known for it's use in LittleKuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series on Youtube. I put this in, because it's in honor of the genius, and because of some apparent violation, his videos are beginning to be deleted...let us hope and pray that our parody lord gets a new place for his vids!**

**Now, for those who are wondering WHY Siho was terrified of the cute little Scapegoat lambs...you'll see why in...oh...maybe a few chapters, I dunno. BTW, that scene used with him, was an idea from a good friend of mine. This friend also laughs everytime she hears Kaibaman's name...I won't say who, cuz I fear for my life, lol.**

**Ja ne, guys!**

**P.S. head's up...another Cocytus is next!**


	50. Cocytus: Antenora's Aliens Part One

**Cocytus: Antenora's Aliens Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: Time for another OC villain duel, ya'll! As an added bonus, you'll see some random fun with the group, you'll see WHY Siho is terrified of Scapegoat and other lambs...and plus, you get to see a deck style that not many see in fanfics. Onward!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Later that night, after Jaden and the others returned to Slifer Dorm, they told their friends what they had seen, and needless to say, Kairi and Christina were in absolute awe and extreme jealousy.

"You got to see _real_ Duel Monsters?!"

"You got to see the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon in a duel?!"

"Yeah...but Siho freaked out when he saw a few Scapegoats...,"

Christina grinned as Syrus recalled the event, then slowly turned to her friend whose face was turning red, eyebrow twitching.

"Aw...did Siho get scared of the lambs, again?" she taunted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Chrissy, shut up. You know I have a problem with that," he muttered.

Jaden leaned forward, "I can understand people being freaked out with Duel Monster cards, but why did you freak out with those Scapegoats?"

"Well, you see, when Siho was younger-,"

"Chrissy...,"

"-his family visited a petting zoo-,"

"I'm warning you, Berg...,"

"-he wandered over to the goat and sheep area, wearing this really nice sweater his mommy gave him,"

Siho reached over and clamped a hand over her mouth, "I swear to God, if you go on, I will bury you alive," he hissed.

Giggling, Christina pulled away from him and hid behind her friends, "So, he was like...what was it, Siho, five years old?"

"You know it was...,"

"Right, anyway, he's five years old, wearing this big sweater, 'cuz it was cold on that day. So, he takes a handful of petting zoo food, and holds it out, hoping for one of the cute animals to wander over, eat out of his hand and be his friend," Christina smiled widely again, "But, this big horned goat waddles over, and he runs his tongue of Siho's hand, tasting the food. Naturally, Siho laughs because he's tickled by this...but his laughs turn to bloodcurdling screams as the horned goat, starts to tug really hard on his oversized sweater sleeve,"

Siho groaned and turned away, face redder than ever as he began to bang his head against the wall.

"The goat actually starts to _eat_ the sleeve, and Siho's terrified that the goat is really trying to eat _him_, so he keeps screaming and screaming, until his uncle comes over and pulls the sweater off of him, letting the goat finish eating," Christina eyed her embarassed friend, "Since then, he's had a phobia of goats, lambs, and anything related,".

Jaden nodded, "So _that's_ why he was scared of the little guys...,"

Syrus giggled, "Aw man...that must've been hard when your family wanted lamb chops for dinner, huh, Siho?"

_WHAP!_

Siho glared at Syrus, who lay whimpering on the floor, head over the newly formed bump on his head, "Shaddup, Truesdale! So I'm afraid of something, that a problem?!" he snapped.

"Siho!" Christina stared at her friend, "Ya didn't hafta hit him!" she scolded.

"He didn't have to make that crack!"

"You still didn't hafta hit him!"

"You shouldn't have told them about that damned day!"

Before anyone could say another word, Siho stormed out of the Slifer Dorm, hopping over the railing outside of Jaden's room.

"Wow...," Chumley leaned to the side, watching him leave, "He looks pretty mad...,"

Christina waved him off, "Bleh...just let him go and watch his movies, or read his books...or look at his deck. He does this everytime someone finds out about that day. He just needs to chill out and let it go...,"

Syrus nodded slowly, "Yeah...," he turned to the long-haired Slifer, "Speaking of decks, I've been wondering something, Chrissy,"

"Lay it on me, Sy,"

"Well...why does Siho play those cards he has? I mean, from what I've seen and what I've heard, those are really creepy. Why does he play those?"

Christina put her arms behind her head and leaned against the wall, "Two reasons. One, it was his father's deck. Two, he likes scary stuff,"

"His father's deck?"

She nodded, "Yep. Siho's father was once a great duelist, really big into the occult, but he got a really important job and had to pass it off. So, Siho inherited his father's deck. However, there were rumors that Siho's deck had cards that belonged to _another_ duelist," she leaned forward a bit, "People said that when Siho was growing up, he'd see a dark man who would tell him what card to play, and how to terrify people to win,"

"A dark man...?!" Syrus slipped behind Jaden, "W-what kinda dark man?"

"Pfft, hell if I know," Christina shrugged, "But because no one else could see the Dark Man, they thought it was an imaginary friend of Siho's. However, as he got older, Siho would keep seeing him and talking to him. The school and his parents were very worried, and to help their son get over it, they sent him to a shrink and since then, he's had to take medication to keep the Dark Man from talking to him again...plus to keep the nightmares away,"

"Nightmares?"

"Yep. Along with the presence of the Dark Man, Siho would have dreams that would be so scary, not only would he wet his bed, but he'd also lose a _lot_ of sleep,"

Chumley frowned, "So...is he nuts, or what?"

Again, Christina shrugged, "Personally, I don't know and I don't care. If Siho sees a Dark Man, then he sees one and it's his problem to deal with it...I have no say in whether or not he's a psycho...," she shook her head, a smile coming to her face, "Ok...now I gots some questions,".

She pointed to Chumley, Syrus and Jaden, "Why do you guys use those decks you have?" she challenged.

Chumley twiddled his fingers, "Uh...well, I love koalas and I've been to Australia a few times on camping trips with my dad, so...," he rubbed the back of his head, "You know, I just got into them...,"

"Ok...now, Syrus, your turn!"

"Uh...well, you mean why I play Machines?"

"That, and why those Machines are those weird 'Roids,"

Syrus took out his deck and fanned it out on the floor, "Well, I play Machine-Type monsters, because Zane uses Machine monsters and he's my big brother, so I want to be like him. Kinda like a tribute, ya know?"

"Ok, makes sense," Christina nodded, "But why the Vehicroid cards?"

"Hehehe," Syrus blushed a little, "I...used to play with toy cars all the time when I was younger, and I loved those cartoons that had the living cars. I just thought it was really cool,"

"Okay...," the female Slifer pointed to Jaden, "You're up, Hero boy!"

Jaden pointed to himself, "You wanna know why I play Elemental Heroes?" he asked slowly.

"Duh,"

The male Slifer pulled out and held his deck, staring at it, "This deck...actually, wasn't mine before. One time, when I was younger, I broke my leg while playing basketball, and I ended up in the hospital. While I stayed there, there was this guy who had the bed next to me. He told me all about dueling and before he left the hospital with his sister, he gave me the Elemental Heroes...," he grinned and tapped the deck lightly, "You could say that's what got me into dueling...,"

Syrus whistled, "Wow...hey Chrissy," he turned and facefaulted as he saw Chrissy sniffing, wiping away some tears.

_Guess she liked that story... _he thought, sweatdropping.

"Anyway...Chrissy, why do you use Amazons?"

Christina sniffed one more time, "Because of my dad. He was a good duelist with awesome Warrior monsters like Gilford the Legend, and Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight-,"

"But you don't have those cards," Chumley interrupted her.

Christina glared at him, "-and while I was growing up, he used to tell me stories about knights of glorius kingdoms and even warrior women that lived in the wilderness of the Amazon Jungle,"

"So that's why you're into them?" Jaden asked, "Because of those stories?"

"Well...that and because of those episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess that had the Amazon chicks fighting from the trees,"

All the boys just stared at her.

Kairi sat near the other end of the room, holding her deck close to her, her head lowered.

_She's not the only one who had a deck that reminds her of her father..._ she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek.

-----

"When are we going to go after the target again?"

"Peace...we cannot do it right now,"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it's not the right time. However, while we are awaiting the right time to engage the target again, we have a loose end to tie up,"

"You mean Nightshroud's vessel?"

"Yes. If he fully recovers, with memories intact, he can inform the others of our goal, our decks and our weaknesses. He's weak now, so we must eliminate him!"

"Meh...I'm out of this one. Assassinating someone really ain't my thing,"

"Caina's out too...ever since she lost, your sister has been moping around,"

"She's lucky I haven't taken her out myself, for failing the mission!"

"Calm down...she's getting a full upgrade for her deck and dueling strategy, so in the future, she can have another shot. Now, about Nightshroud's vessel...,"

"You take him out...and make sure that no one interferes!"

-----

Miss Fontaine walked down the aisle of beds in the infirmary, doing her nightly rounds before heading back to her own room at the Obelisk Blue girl's dorms. The infirmary was pretty quiet, no new patients came in...and a few people didn't leave just yet.

Atticus Rhodes lay on his bed, still resting peacefully while Jordan sat at his bed side, arms crossed.

Smiling, Miss Fontaine walked over to him.

"Jordy, why don't you go home and get some sleep?"

Jordan shook his head, "I ain't leavin' till he's better...," he murmured.

"Jordy...,"

"I said, I ain't leaving!" he snapped, glaring at her a little.

Miss Fontaine was startled by the Ra's attitude, but she wouldn't say that she didn't see this coming. From what she heard from Alexis, Jordan considered the two Rhodes siblings to be his own brother and sister, even though they were just cousins.

She nodded patted him on the head, "Well...then, I'll just go make sure the vending machines outside are working so you won't have to go far for some snacks," she offered.

Jordan nodded and the woman walked away, her heels clacking against the cold floor.

_Atty...what did those freaks do to you? Where did they keep you this entire time? _he wondered, looking at his resting cousin, _Alexis was worried sick and missed you like crazy. I did too, but I managed to keep Lexi from going nuts with grief from the idea of you not coming back. She said that she didn't want me to go after those freaks, out of fear that she'd lose me too, but I promise you, Big Bro...I won't let them get away with this!_

A loud crashing sound made Jordan fall out of his seat.

"What the hell was that?!"

Jordan got to his feet, grabbed his duel disk that sat nearby on another chair, then darted out of the infirmary. As soon as his foot stepped out of the infirmary door, he yelped and did a flip, only to land hard on his back.

He lay there, feeling both the pain in his body from the fall, as well as a strange sticky substance around him. Slowly, Jordan sat up and found that most of the hallway floor was covered in some disgusting green goo.

With a groan of disgust, he flicked the slime off of one hand, only to feel a strand fling back and get stuck to his forehead.

"What the hell is this...slime?" he muttered, trying hard to get back to his feet, hoping not to slip and fall again.

He looked around and saw that a couple of the vending machines had been toppled over, and a trail of slime leading away from the infirmary. Taking a closer look, Jordan realized that whatever made those tracks, had been dragged.

Curious and fearful as to what he may find, Jordan slowly made his way across the slime pool, his clothes, hair and duel disk dripping with the slime.

"Ugh...man, this is disgusting...," Jordan spat as he eased his way around the corner. The slime trail went down the hall and into an open door.

_Man, how could Miss Fontaine not see this on her way out? _Jordan stopped in his tracks, looking down at the trail, _Unless...whatever made this grabbed her. Oh, my God...!_

He ran, or rather slid towards the door and peeked into the room. It was an empty classroom, but the trail of green slime told Jordan that he probably wasn't alone.

"Miss Fontaine, are you in here?" he called out, hearing his voice echo around him, "It's Jordan! Listen, if you're here and you can hear me, yell so I can find you!"

He was about halfway down the stairs when the door slammed shut behind him. Startled by the noise, Jordan slipped, lost his footing, and went tumbling down the stairs, hitting the floor, more and more of the slime covering him.

"Jeez...kids are jumpy around here,"

Jordan lifted his head, spitting out some slime, "Sonofa..._bitch_!"

"Aw, naughty, naughty, little boy...," a cold chuckle came as a pair of white, sleek boots came into Jordan's view.

Jordan looked up to see a tall woman, one with long red hair, clad entirely in white. She had a long white trenchcoat, knee-high white boots, a very short white tank top, while the outfit was completed by a pair of ruby-lensed shades.

The woman tilted her head to the side, her arms behind her head, "First the old bag, now a runt...I figured that they would've had more protection for Nightshroud's body,"

_Nightshroud's body?! _Jordan scowled and climbed to his feet, backing away as best he could, "Shadow Rider...," he hissed.

The woman laughed, "My, aren't we perceptive?" she lifted her shades to show a pair of yellowish pupils, which startled Jordan, "Cocytus Squad member number two, Antenora!" she introduced herself with a cold smile.

"Jordan Rhodes, Machine King of Ra Yellow and brother of Atticus...but you may know him as Nightshroud,"

Antenora giggled, "I don't run into Caina's opponent, but I run into Nightshroud's flesh and blood? My my...such good fortune," she pointed off to the side, "Looks like I'll have more fun with you than I did _her_,"

Jordan looked to the side and his eyes widened to see Miss Fontaine laying across some stairs opposite of them, completely covered from head to toe with slime.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" he snapped, glaring at the woman.

Antenora shrugged, "Nothing, really. I just nabbed her and took her out of the formula," she lowered her sunglasses, "But now...what to do with _you_?" she asked, tapping her chin.

"I'll tell you what you can do with me, you bitch," Jordan's duel disk whirred to life as he cleaned his deck as best he could, "You gonna duel me right here and now, because that's the only way you're getting to my family!"

The Cocytus member laughed coldly as she pulled her arms out from behind her back, to reveal a black duel disk with a black C and a number 2 on it, "If you really wanna throw your life away, boy, that's fine by me,"

"DUEL!" they both shouted as they drew their hands.

**A: 4000  
J: 4000**

"I'll go first," Jordan drew his sixth card, "I'll place two cards facedown, and I'll end my turn by placing one card facedown in defense mode,"

Antenora remained silent as she drew her card, "I summon Alien Warrior (1800/1000) in attack mode!" she declared as a horrific creature with gray, slimy skin and long claws appeared, roaring loudly.

_Alien?! I've never heard of that type of card before..._ Jordan grit his teeth.

"Alien Warrior, attack his facedown card now!"

Jordan grinned as his card flipped up, revealing a metal jar with glass and lights blinking before it was destroyed, "Thank you! That was my Cyber Jar (900/900), and it has a special effect. When it's flipped up, it destroys _every_ monster on the field, and then we both take five cards from the top of our deck...," Jordan reached down and snatched five cards, "If any of them are monsters that are Level 4 or lower, then we can summon them in either facedown defense mode, or face-up attack mode. Any other card that we can't summon, gets added to our hand,".

He looked down at his five cards, "Not bad...I summon Cyber Kirin (300/800), Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600), Machine King Prototype (1600/1500), Mechanicalchaser (1850/800), and one monster facedown in defense mode,"

Antenora nodded slightly, "Five low level monsters on the first time...lucky, aren't you?"

Jordan scoffed at her, "Luck has nothing to do with it. Now," he waved an arm to his Machine King, "While he is out, he gains 100 attack and defense points for every face-up Machine-Type monster on the field," he pointed to his other monsters, "So...that's three monsters besides him, so he gains 300 points in both attack and defense points!"

Cyber Kirin (300/800)  
Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600)  
Mechanicalchaser (1850/800)  
Machine King Prototype (1900/1500)

Antenora rolled her eyes as she took her five cards, "You think you're the only one who got the cards they needed?" she asked, looking up from the extra hand, "I summon Alien Hunter (1600/800), Alien Skull (1600/1800) and my second Alien Warrior!"

Jordan groaned as three more ugly aliens arrived, "Man...that's not a pretty picture,"

"Don't diss the aliens, you little punk," his opponent hissed, "Throughout the millenia, people of earth have thought that they were the only intelligent life in the universe, but as you can see, recently, theories by scientists have made people think that they're not alone in this vast universe of ours...,"

"Why the hell are you tellin' me all this, I thought we were dueling, not having a lecture on the supernatural,"

"I just thought I'd give a little change of pace...," Antenora grabbed a couple more cards from her hand, "Next, I'll place two cards facedown, and then I'll play the Spell card known as 'A'-Cell Scatter Burst!"

"Say what?"

"This card, when I sacrifice one Alien monster on my field, this Spell card creates an A-Counter for each star in the sacrificed monsters level. So, that's four A-Counters...in exchange for Alien Hunter,"

Jordan raised an eyebrow as four blobs of green slime appeared, "What good does _that_ do you?"

Antenora smiled, "What good? Simple. The A-Counters...I can attach them to any monster or monsters on your field if I want, so...," she shrugged, "I'll attach one to your Cyber Kirin, another to Cyber Phoenix and the two remaining Counters to your Mechanicalchaser!"

Like parasites, the Alien Counters flew over and attached themselves to Jordan's monsters, making sickening, squishy noises as they landed.

"I'll end my turn with that,"

Jordan drew his card, "Alright...uh," he glanced at the blobs covering his monsters, "I sacrifice my Machine King Prototype to summon Machine King (2200/2000)," he paused as his cyborg was replaced by another, more refined cyborg, "But he won't be staying for long...I play Machine King Upgrade! By sacrificing my Machine King, I can Special Summon Perfect Machine King from my hand...,"

The Ra grinned as he held up the card, "So here he comes...I summon Perfect Machine King (2700/1500) in attack mode!"

Once again, his cyborg left and a much larger, much more advanced-looking metal behemoth appeared in it's place.

"Like my other Machine Kings, he does gain points for every Machine-Type monster on the field, but it's not 100...Perfect Machine King gains 500 attack and defense points!" he nodded, grinning, "So, my three face-up machine monsters give him a big ol' power boost of 1500 points!"

Cyber Kirin (300/800) A-Counter  
Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600) A-Counter  
Mechanicalchaser (1850/800) 2 A-Counters  
Perfect Machine King (4200/1500)

Antenora looked up at the monster, "Impressive...I can see how you're related to Nightshroud,"

"_Atticus_!" Jordan snapped, "His name is _ATTICUS! _Atticus Rhodes!" he glared at her, "Nightshroud left when Jaden Yuki kicked his ass...he's not here anymore!" he pressed a button on his duel disk, "Activate Trap card! Ring of Destruction!"

A large ring with red grenades appeared around his Perfect Machine King's neck.

"This Trap card destroys one monster on the field, and we both take damage equal to it's attack points," Jordan explained as he pressed another button on his disk, "Well..._one_ of us will. I play my second facedown card called Ring of Defense!"

A large green fan appeared between him and Machine King, blades spinning like a twister.

"This card protects me from the blast, so it looks like you're the one getting the full power...,"

"Don't think so,"

Jordan stared at her, "Say what?"

Antenora pressed a button on her disk, "Activate my own facedown Trap card...Seven Tools of the Bandit! Now, by sacrificing 1000 Life Points, I can negate and destroy one Trap card on the field, so just guess which one I'm gonna destroy, you little punk,"

_Oh crap..._ Jordan looked away as his Ring of Destruction was blown to bits, _That means my other Ring was used up for no reason!_

**A: 3000  
J: 4000**

"So what, I still got my attack...," he pointed to one of her monsters, "Mechanicalchaser, attack her Alien Warrior!"

Antenora shook her head as the Machine-Type lunged towards her monster.

"By the stars, you are so predictable," she muttered, pressing another button on her disk.

Just as Mechanicalchaser's spear was about to come crashing down on the Alien, it was suddenly stopped seconds before Machine King, which stood silently on the field, exploded into millions of bits and pieces.

Jordan glared at her as his monster crumbled into nothingness, "What the hell was that?!"

"It was a trap card known as Widespread Ruin. When your monsters attack, I activate this and the strongest monster on your field gets destroyed...," she smiled, "You honestly think I'd let your metal man hurt my friends?"

The Ra grit his teeth, "Ok...so, I got a minor setback...no worries. Mechanicalchaser, continue your assault!"

His winged metal monster flew at the Alien Warrior again, spear at the ready. But something strange happened. When it connected with the Alien, it was Mechanicalchaser that got blown to pieces, and not Alien Warrior.

"_Now_ what?!" Jordan snapped, eye twitching, "My monster had more attack points than yours!"

Antenora wagged a finger, "True...but, remember those Alien Counters I placed on your monster?"

"Yeah...,"

"Well, when a monster with A-Counters attacks an Alien monster, the attacking monster loses 300 attack and defense points for every counter it has on him," she smiled, "Last I checked, your Mechanicalchaser had two A-Counters...,"

Jordan stared dumbly at her, "So...th-that means...,"

"Yep...your Mechanicalchaser lost 600 points in both attack and defense points,"

Alien Warrior (1800/1000)

Mechanicalchaser (1250/200)

**A: 3000  
J: 3450**

Cyber Kirin (300/800)  
Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600)  
1 f/d

Alien Skull (1600/1800)  
Alien Warrior (1800/1000)

_Dammit..._ Jordan reached down to his monsters, "I'll switch my remaining face-up monsters into defense mode and end my turn,"

Antenora drew her card and smiled, "Boy...if you think my Aliens were tough _now_...then wait until you see the ones that rule over them...,"

**To Be Continued...**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: ok, I really hope I did this part of the duel well...I've never used Alien monsters or cards for them, so I hope I did it ok for now...heheh...ja ne!**


	51. Cocytus: Antenora's Aliens Part Two

**Cocytus: Antenora's Aliens Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Previously, on GX: Heroes, while Siho's rather humorous fear of lambs was revealed and the reason why some of the Slifers use the decks that they use was told, Jordan was having a rather tough night. He didn't know that while he visited Atticus in the hospital, another member of the Cocytus Squad would make a slimy-covered appearance. To protect his family, and to ensure that Miss Fontaine was safe, Jordan challenged the woman, Antenora to a duel._**

**_However, he soon learned that her deck, which was made up of the strange Alien cards, was no joke. He had brought out his Machine Kings, but they bit the dust as soon as one of his own monsters attacked. THEN, he found out that when his monsters had A-Counters on them, and they fought an Alien monster, they would be weakened in both attack and defense power. Now, with fewer monsters than he started out with, and just a few more Life Points than his opponent, Jordan is about to face something that is even worse than the Aliens he's already staring down._**

**_Where's Sigourney Weaver and Arnold Schwarzenegger when ya need them?_**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**A: 3000  
J: 3450**

Alien Skull (1600/1800)  
Alien Warrior (1800/1000)

Cyber Kirin DEF (300/800) A-Counter  
Cyber Phoenix DEF (1200/1600) A-Counter  
1 f/d DEF

Antenora looked at her hand, "First, I play Lightning Vortex," she slipped a card into her disk, "By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all face-up monsters on my opponents field...so your Cyber creatures are destroyed!"

Jordan shut his eyes as lightning bolts crashed down on his monsters, blasting them to pieces, "So what, I still got one monster!"

"I know...," Antenora looked her cards, "I sacrifice my Alien Skull, and my Alien Warrior in order to summon...Cosmic Horror Gangi'el (2600/2000)!!"

The two Aliens dissolved away and in their place, a huge, disgusting, tentacled beast rose from the ground, slime dripping from it's many appendages.

"What the _hell_ is that?!" Jordan cried, stepping back and slipping onto some nearby green slime, landing on his rear end.

Antenora chuckled, "This is one of the great beasts that came from the dark recesses of space...," she looked up at the beast fondly, "Every species needs a fearsome ruler...I guess you can call this handsome thing the Alien King...,"

"Don't you mean _Queen_?"

"Perhaps...," Antenora shrugged, "But, I have one of those already...perhaps, if you last long enough, you'll get to see it? Now," she pointed to the facedown monster card, "Cosmic Horror Gangi'el, attack with Cosmic Collision!"

The tentacled horror screeched and sent a beam of glowing energy at Jordan's facedown card. His monster flipped up to show a strange football player in heavy playing gear before it disappeared.

"There goes my Battle Footballer (1000/2100)...," Jordan winced, "Least my points are safe...,"

"They won't be next turn," Antenora chuckled, slipping a card into her disk, "I'll end my turn with a facedown...,"

Jordan drew his card, "Alright...time to turn this around. I play the Spell card Card of Sanctity! This Spell card lets us both draw until we have six cards in our hands," he explained as they both drew their respective amount of cards.

_Alright...now, to time this just right..._ Jordan looked up from his cards to his opponent, _Cuz if she has something besides that Cosmic Horror, I can't afford to make any mistakes!_

-----

"What the hell...happened here?"

Siho stood in the hallway, standing just inches from the slime pool. He hopped between the groups and poked his head into the infirmary, to see that it was empty, save Atticus. He frowned, _Alexis and Jordan are always here with him...but if they're not here..._ his eyes went down to the slime, _Something tells me that I just need follow this crap._

-----

"Are you going to finish or what?" Antenora asked, annoyed at the pause, "I do have a job to do, boy,"

Jordan grinned, "So do I...and that job is to protect my loved ones. I summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode!"

His round-mirrored Machine appeared before him, the glass catching a reflection of the Cosmic Horror.

"Lousy move...," Antenora muttered as she drew her card, "Now, I'll activate my Cosmic Horror's special ability. Once per turn, I can place one A-Counter on an enemies monster, so you're mirror friend just got slimed,"

Jordan watched as another glob of goo plopped down onto his Reflect Bounder's head.

"Now, Cosmic Horror, attack again with Cosmic Collision!" Antenora ordered.

Jordan grinned, "Bad move! My Reflect Bounder knocks back your attack to your Life Points!"

**A: 400  
J: 3450**

"That may be, but the power of my monster still takes some points out of you!" Antenora shot back as Cosmic Collision went through Reflect Bounder and hit Jordan hard in the gut.

Cosmic Horror Gangi'el (2600/2000)

Reflect Bounder w/ A-Counter (1400/700)

**A: 400  
J: 2250**

Jordan fell to one knee, "Dammit...that hurts...,"

"It's only going to get worse, boy," Antenora pushed a button on her disk, "I play my Call of the Haunted Trap card! This allows me to bring back a monster from my Graveyard to my field. So now, I shall summon back my Alien Warrior!"

Jordan groaned as the familiar alien came back to the field, "Aw man...,"

"Now, I've got a monster, and you're defenseless...Alien Warrior, take him down!"

Jordan screamed at the top of his lungs as the alien's claws raked through him, sending a huge chunk of points away.

**A: 400  
J: 450**

-----

Siho stared at the classroom door, the same one that the slime trail was leading to.

"Something tells me that Slimer didn't come through here...," he muttered, jiggling the door handle a little, "But something's tellin' me I ain't dealing with a spirit,"

A muffled scream from within the room made Siho jump.

"That was Jordan!" Siho looked around, hoping to find something he could use to break the door down, but he couldn't find anything, "Dammit!"

-----

Jordan lay on the slime covered floor, panting heavily after the attack.

_Get up, Jordy...get up! It's time to get back at these freaks for what they've done to your family. They've made you and Alexis worry and mourn every single day...they've turned your cousin into a Shadow Rider, one of the people who work for the destruction of the world and the loss of souls from all over the world! GET...UP!_

The Ra slowly climbed to his feet, stumbling around, trying to keep his footing, which was a lot more difficult because the slime never helped him out much.

Antenora smiled wickedly, "So...ready to go down with _some_ dignity, huh?" she taunted, "Go on and make your move...nothing can take down my Aliens," she said proudly.

"Nothing?" Jordan drew his card and smiled, "You're wrong about that, asshole,"

Antenora scowled, "It's not wise to treat the victor of this battle with such disrespect,"

"It's also not wise to underestimate your opponents," Jordan shot back as he took a few cards from his hand, "First...I play a Spell card known as Power-Bond!"

"Power-Bond?!" Antenora's eyes widened, "How could you have a card that rare?!" she screeched.

Jordan grinned.

-Flashback-

_"Jordy, I want you to have this,"_

_Jordan looked up at a young man as he held out a card, "What is it, big bro?"_

_"This is a card that's always helped me out in my duels. I want you to have it,"_

_"But...you always win with this!"_

_"I know, but if I rely on one card all the time, I can't be a great duelist...I have to rely on my entire deck, so take it,"_

-End Flashback-

"I know use Power-Bonds effect," Jordan held up two cards, "With the magic of this card to fuse two Machine-Type monsters, I can create something that will win this duel for me. I fuse my Barrel Dragon (2600/2200) and my Blowback Dragon (2300/1200) to create...,"

He looked up to the ceiling as his two Machine Dragons swirled together and a new, very shiny, metallic beast was born from them. It had multiple heads on the upper half of it's body, while the lower half had two huge spiked wheels.

"My Gatling Dragon (2600/1200)!!"

Antenora stepped back, "No...,"

"Oh yeah!" Jordan nodded slowly, "Now, Power-Bonds other effect. When it creates a Fusion monster, it's power is doubled!"

Gatling Dragon (5200/1200)

"But if you think I'm gonna stop there, you're _way_ wrong!" Jordan snapped as he slipped a card in the slot underneath the Gatling Dragon, "I now play my Spell card Limiter Removal! This card also has the effect to double all Machine-Type monsters on the field," he grinned, "So guess what that brings my Dragon's power up to?"

Gatling Dragon (10400/1200)

Antenora shook her head, "N-no...way...you can't...you're not strong enough to beat any of us!"

"Apparently, I am! My friend beat one of you, and now I'm gonna take down another of you S.O.B.'s, using the cards I got from my family. With these gifts from my loved ones, I'll be able to protect my loved ones!" Jordan pointed to the Alien Warrior, "Gatling Dragon...attack with Gatling Gun Burst!"

The Fusion beast roared and fired off dozens of beams of light and energy at both the Alien Warrior and Antenora. The female Cocytus member screamed as the light filled her vision before a deafening boom filled the classroom.

**A: 0  
J: 450**

The smoke from the blast cleared and Jordan stood there, panting, feeling extremely tired out. He watched as the slime all around him began to disappear into nearby vents and cracks in the floor. Antenora's body disappeared, leaving only her clothes and her duel disk behind.

Jordan laughed weakly and held up both hands. With a smirk, he flipped Antenora's remains the birds.

"Don't...mess...with...family...," he wheezed before falling over, blacking out just as Siho kicked the door open.

-----

"Now, _this_ is a very interesting turn,"

"Hahahaha...you got that right, boss-man. These kids are pretty fun to watch. So, what's next?"

"...I say that we wait awhile before our next move. Let's let our other companions deal with the Key-Keepers awhile longer...then we'll have some more fun,"

"You wanna wait? Why?"

"Because, I got a new plan...and we gotta wait for the right time,"

"Bah, if you say so...but I call dibs on the next duel!"

"Fine, whatever,"

-----

The next morning, Kairi practically skipped around the halls. She had gotten Kristerr a nice gift a few days before, and she heard from his friends that today was his birthday, so it'd be a perfect time to give it to him. Hopefully, he loved it.

"Maybe, he'll love it so much, we'll get serious and go steady," Kairi held the box close to her, smiling from ear to ear, "But to see if that works, I gotta find him!"

As she skipped past a classroom door, she could hear the voice of her crush from within. Skidding to a stop, she backtracked and poked her head in. Kristerr was there, but without his blazer. Instead, he just wore a baggy black shirt and jeans, his purple hair complimented by the black shirt.

He wasn't alone though. A woman in a fine dress and a young man about his height and light brown hair were standing in front of him. Neither of them looking pleased.

As Kairi walked down the stairs, she could hear some of their conversation.

"-you go off, against _my_ wishes, and pursue this...this...waste of time!" the woman hissed, nodding to Kristerr's deck belt.

"This isn't a waste of time. This is called Dueling and it's what I love, _mother_," Kristerr growled, "I am my own person, and I don't have to go and check with you to do everything I do!"

"Yes you do, and you will! We've informed the Chancellor of your...deception, and it seems they don't like that here, so go and pack up, you're coming home with us. You are to leave this...dueling, business to your brother,"

"Screw that!" Kristerr turned around and stopped in his tracks, very surprised to see the Slifer girl behind him, "Oh...uh...Kairi...what are you doing here?"

"I came to give your a gift, Kristerr," Kairi glanced at the people behind her crush and held out her gift, "Hope you like it,"

"Just who is _this_?" Kristerr's mother snapped, walking up and around Kairi, circling around her like a vulture, "I hope this is a fan of your career, dear, because if it's something more, than you are in bigger trouble than before,"

"Trouble?" Kairi frowned, "I don't wanna get Kristerr into trouble. He's my friend and I just wanted to drop by and give him a gift," she murmured, twiddling her fingers.

"Oh, don't worry, my dear," Kristerr's mother scoffed, "My son won't be in trouble...but my _daughter_ will be,"

"Daughter?" Kairi looked at Kristerr, "What's she talking about?"

Kristerr's mother laughed coldly, "Oh...so you haven't told _anyone_? My, you are a sneaky one, aren't you?" she turned to Kairi and took hold of Kristerr's shirt, "You want to know what I'm talking about?" she asked sweetly.

"Mother, please...," Kristerr hissed.

"Please _what_, Khamille?! After all you put me through, I think I have right to show the people of the school the truth!".

The woman pulled up Kristerr's shirt and Kairi's eyes widened to see that underneath that baggy shirt...underneath that blazer earlier...was a pair of breasts, covered by a white bra.

Kairi opened her mouth, "Wha...,"

"Kairi...," Kristerr or Khamille, in this case, started, "Listen...,"

"You're...a...a...a...,"

The older woman snickered, "That's right...the one you knew as 'Kristerr'..._her_ real name is Khamille,"

Kairi looked at her, then at Khamille, dropped her gift and ran out of the classroom as fast as she could.

"Kairi, wait!"

"Let her go...go and gather your things while I speak with the Chancellor...," the woman looked around, disgusted at the surroundings, "I'm grateful we met up with those fine young men. They led us to you, and they'll take care of this...place,"

Khamille glared at her mother, "Who? _Who_ is gonna take care of this place?"

Her mother chuckled quietly as she started to walk up the stairs, "Just some new friends, darling, nothing you need to concern yourself with,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Uh...WOW. Ok, not only did Jordan PWN that chick, but it looks like Kristerr's a chick in reality...-shakes head- messed up, huh? What's going on with the Obelisk's family, and who's the people who's gonna take care of the school? Read the next one to find out!**


	52. Khamille's Truth, Chazz's Challenge

**Khamille's Truth, Chazz's Challenge**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"I can't take it anymore! The Chazz shouldn't live like a Slifer Rat!" Chazz sat up on his bed, in his very cramped room, "I used to be an Obelisk Blue!"

He looked around his room, taking in the room's features and thinking of the ones from his old dorm, "Jacuzzi tub, turndown service...a week of renovations and this place _still_ isn't livable!"

While Chazz was having a breakdown, he didn't notice his Ojama Yellow pop out of his deck case.

"Hey, Boss!" the Spirit greeted, "You look stressed!" he flew up to Chazz's shoulders and nodded as he felt around, "Oh yeah, feel all this stress building up!"

Chazz snapped his head to the Spirit, glaring hard at him, "_You_! If you wanna be helpful, get lost!"

Ojama Yellow cried and floated around him, letting the tears fall.

Chazz swiped at him, "Also...if you wanna see pressure, then how's this?!" he slammed his hands together just Ojama Yellow came in between them.

With a puff of smoke, the annoying Spirit was gone.

"Finally...some peace and quiet," Chazz sighed, lowering his head, "Bout damn time, too,"

"Hey, what's up, Chazz?"

Chazz yelped, then slowly turned around, glaring at the source of the newest annoyance. Jaden, Syrus, and Christina were standing at his doorway.

"Haven't you heard of _knocking_?!" he snapped.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Christina shrugged, grinning.

Syrus pointed out of view, towards something that was leaning against the outside wall, "We would've knocked...but your doors way over there," he explained.

Chazz facefaulted, "That's _not_ funny...,"

"Hm...I guess not," Jaden turned to Christina and Syrus, grinning, "So, let's go for fun!"

Without a single moment of hestitation, the three Slifers jumped over the couch that barred the doorway, and start to bounce on Chazz's mattress, laughing with each bounce.

"Get off!" Chazz yelled as he was unwillingly bounced along with them, "My mattress isn't a trampoline!"

Jaden bounced again, "By the way...,"

"...the Chancellor...," Syrus bounced, nearly hitting the ceiling.

"...wants to see you!" Christina finished right before her head hit the ceiling. She covered her head, but still continued to bounce, "OW!"

"_Shephard_?!" Chazz stared at them, unsure if he heard right, "What does he want with me?"

"Something about the fate of Duel Academy...I dunno,"

-----

"Kairi, wait!"

"No, no, no! I _don't_ wanna hear it!"

Khamille quickened her running speed, and managed to cut Kairi off.

The Slifer girl skidded to a stop, streaks running down her face.

The crossdressing Obelisk panted, catching her breath, "L-listen...ok? I know, that you're upset,"

"_Upset_?!" Kairi repeated, "UPSET?! You think I'm _upset_? No, I'm not upset, I'm both very pissed off and hurt right now!"

Khamille nodded slowly, "Ok, I understand that, really I do," she held up her hands, "Please, just let me explain,"

"Explain? _Explain_?! What's there to explain?" Kairi snapped, "I've known you ever since that girl Blair came to school, but not _once_ did you tell me about this..this...," she shook her head, "I can't even say it. I thought maybe, just maybe, I found a nice guy who I could maybe, go steady with, but...,"

Khamille rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Look, I'm sorry, I really am, but if you just let me say why I did it,"

"Hey, guys...,"

The two girls turned to see Siho walking up to them, hands in his pockets.

Siho looked at Kairi, seeing her tears, then turned to the Obelisk, "So you finally told her huh, Khamille?"

Khamille shut her eyes as Kairi slowly looked at her, then at Siho.

Kairi pointed to the Obelisk, still staring at her fellow Slifer, "You..._knew_ about her?"

Siho glanced between the two girls, "Uh...yeah...?"

"For how long?"

"Heh...uh...how long?" Siho scratched a cheek as the night after Camula was beaten came back to him.

-Flashback-

_KNOCK KNOCK_

_Siho walked up to his door, hand on the knob, "Who is it?" he whispered._

_"Siho, it's me, open up,"_

_The Slifer unlocked his door and pulled it open to see 'Kristerr' wearing baggy jeans, a baggy black shirt, a checkered bandanna around his neck, and wide-rimmed glasses._

_"Nice look," he commented, looking him over._

_'Kristerr' rolled his eyes as he brushed past him, "Had to wear something so that no one could recognize me,"_

_Siho nodded slowly as he shut his door, "Good point," he turned to the Obelisk, "So, spill. I'm really wantin' to hear **this**,"_

_The Obelisk sighed and sat down on Siho's bunk, "My real name is Khamille May Tong. I came to Duel Academy under an alias-,"_

_"Yeah, I can see that," Siho cracked._

_Khamille glared at him, "-anyway...I come from a family of, how one would say...'privileged' people. My mother is one of the most respected businesswomen in the world, and my brother is one of the top duelists in my home country,"_

_"Which would be...?"_

_"I'm Filipino, so take a guess, Sherlock," Khamille snapped, "Anyway, when I was growing up, my mother was always putting me in ballet, beauty contests and modeling gigs, always pushing me to be this little perfect princess drone who wouldn't question her 'loving' mother,"_

_She sighed, "Anyway, while I was growing up, I got into dueling, but there were two problems with it. One, my mother didn't approve of it at all, saying that a barbaric game where you use an army to hurt other people isn't 'ladylike'. The other reason is, well, when my mother wouldn't let me duel, I'd go behind her back and buy cards for my own deck. When I got the chance, I'd sneak away from her for some 'ballet practice time' and challenge people in my hometown. However, most of them were guys and they just laughed at me and walked off, saying that girls can't duel like guys could,"_

_Siho shook his head, "Dude...people can be such assholes,"_

_"Hear that," Khamille took off her glasses, looking at them, "It wasn't until a few years ago that I heard of this place, Duel Academy, where I could learn to become a great duelist like Seto Kaiba, or the King of Games himself. Of course, when my mother found out that **I** found out about it, she took away all the references I had of the place, and enrolled me into an all-girls school out of the country so I can focus on my grades instead of my dueling,"_

_"But you didn't go...,"_

_"HELL NO!" Khamille snapped at him, "I got dropped off at an airport and I **was** supposed to go on the flight that my mother bought me a ticket to, but I just told myself 'F that' and I ran away. The only thing I had were a couple hundred bucks and my deck,"_

_"So, how'd you get in, if you ran away?"_

_"I'm gettin' to that! While I was on my own, I managed to find new information on Duel Academy, and with the small amount of friends I had within my mother's company and my brother, I got into the school. Of course, I had to dye my hair a different color and wear baggy clothes so that no one could see the obvious parts of my body prsesing up against my shirt,"_

_Siho frowned, "Brother?"_

_"Yep. His name is Kristerr. As you can guess, that's where I got my alias from," Khamille played with her bandanna, "He never supported me in my love for dueling while my mother was around, but when he and I got free time to ourselves, me and him would talk about it. If my mother were to come in, he'd pretend to be teaching me advanced math, or bragging on how **he** could duel without much of a problem,"_

_"Wow...lucky,"_

_"Yeah. Anyway, once I applied for the Academy, I found out that thanks to my brother and his tips, I managed to get really high marks on the written exam, and thanks to my own skill from secretly dueling behind my mothers back, not to mention a **really** cool deck, I did very well on my other exams. Finally, under another name, my brother pulled some strings and I got into Obelisk Blue,"_

_"Despite what your family may be, your brother really loves ya, huh?"_

_"Yeah...but my mother," she shook her head, "I'm sure that she thinks, that what she's doing is for my best interest, but most of the time I feel like she's prepping me to be Queen of the world or something,"_

_Siho stared at her, then scratched his head, "Wow...uh...I gotta tell ya, I've heard alot of reasons for dueling, but this is something that takes the taco. How much longer do you think you can keep this charade up?"_

_"Well...as long as you keep your trap shut, and don't tell **anyone**...I might be able to stay here without a worry for quite awhile longer,"_

_"Hey, don't worry, I know how to keep secrets," Siho sat down and held out his hand, "You have my word, Khamille,"_

-End Flashback-

"So you've known since Jaden beat that vampire chick?!"

"Hey, I woulda told ya, but I had to keep my word. It's the binding honor of a friend,"

"Of a _friend_?" Kairi's eye twitched, "The _same_ honor of a friend, that makes a friend tell another friend something that the other friend should know, but that first friend won't tell that friend because of some stupid reason, like they didn't wanna hurt that friend?!"

Siho and Khamille slowly turned and looked at one another, then turned to her.

"What?" they both asked.

"Nevermind,"

Khamille checked her watch, "Look, I'm sorry, guys, but I gotta go. My mother wants me to pack up my stuff,"

"You're _actually_ gonna leave, Khamille?" Siho asked, surprised.

Khamille scoffed, "_Hell _no. I'm gonna use what time I got left to try and talk to Shephard about this...maybe I can work something out,"

Siho watched as the Obelisk girl ran off down the hallway, then turned around, "So, what's going...,"

He stopped and watched as Kairi ran away in the opposite direction.

"Aw crap...,"

-----

"I have urgent news for you, Chazz,"

Shephard turned around in his chair and looked at Chazz, who was flanked by Jaden, Syrus, and Christina. Professor Banner and a young man with light brown hair sat nearby on a couch, Banner petting his faithful fat cat.

Chazz raised an eyebrow, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "Like what? My new bed here yet?"

"Cool!" Jaden grinned, "I say we go and jump around on it, test it out!"

"This isn't about your living arrangements, Chazz," Banner explained quietly as Pharaoh purred in his lap.

"Then _what_?" Chazz glanced from the Slifer headmaster to Shephard.

Shephard's face fell a little, "Well...someone is trying to buy out the Duel Academy, and this someone is planning to get rid of all the teachers and students, and shut this place down forever,"

"Shut it down?" Chazz stared at him.

"Dude, that's messed up!" Christina cracked her knuckles, "That's it, someone's gonna get an ass-whoopin' from yours truly!" she growled, eye twitching.

Syrus and Jaden inched themselves away from her, a little bit scared.

Jaden turned to his Chancellor, "But _why_?"

Shephard folded his hands together and leaned foward onto his desk, "Without _us_, they could take over the entire dueling world!" he took a breath, "Fortunately, our owner, has given us a chance,"

-Flashback-

_"You heard me right,"_

_An intimidating man in a white trenchcoat had his back to the men behind him. These were the same men that demanded they obtain the Academy._

_"It's not about the money, it's about the cards," the owner of Duel Academy looked over his shoulder, his cold blue eyes glaring hard at the duo, "I will only sell you my Academy if you prove your worth as a duelist, and beat one of my students in battle,"_

-End Flashback-

"It comes down...," Banner held up a single finger, "...to _one_ duel,"

Jaden frowned, and snapped his head to Shephard, "Let me duel, I'll whoop this guy!"

"No!" Shephard barked, "The duelist...is already chosen,"

"Well who's it gonna be?!" Christina demanded, "If it ain't Jaden, then who else? Zane? Bastion?"

Shephard shook his head and turned his stare to the person that stood in front of him.

Jaden, Syrus and Christina turned to the duelist, "CHAZZ?!"

"Chazz is gonna duel?" Jaden asked, making sure he got that right.

Banner nodded, stood up and walked to the nearby monitor on the wall, where a loud beeping noise was heard, "For some reason, they specifically asked for you, Chazz," he carried on as he pushed a button, "I believe that this is them now,"

"On screen," Shephard nodded to the monitor.

Banner nodded back and pressed another button. Seconds later, two familiar faces appeared on the TV monitor.

"It's Chazz's brothers?" Syrus stared at the two men on the screen.

"That figures," Jaden muttered under his breath.

Chazz scowled, "Lousy scrubs. What are you up to?" he demanded.

Slade Princeton grinned, "C'mon, Chazz, don't you know? Jagger...?"

"Same thing as always, little brother," Jagger Princeton shared his brother's grin.

"Complete world domination!" they said in unison.

"Don't you remember, Chazz?" Slade asked, "It was our...little 'family project',"

Chazz grunted, "_Your _project, maybe...,"

"Well, it pretty much is _now,_ huh, Chazz?!" Slade snapped at him.

Jagger nodded, "That's right. It's all because _you_ couldn't pull your weight! _You _couldn't conquer the world of Duel Monsters like we planned! So now, Slade is just gonna have to do it for you,"

"So I'm dueling Slade?" Chazz asked them.

Syrus humphed, "You can take him easy, Chazz!"

"Totally!" Christina agreed with a nod.

"Slade's just an amateur," Jaden added, "You guys better rethink your business strategy, because this one stinks!"

Slade smirked, "No, it _doesn't_, because there are a few conditions. First," he pulled up a black briefcase, then opened it up to show them all a bunch of cards, "I'm going to use all these rare cards, the _same_ rare cards that you wouldn't use for the School Duel, Chazz. Of course, you refused to use them, and you lost. Also, there's one more thing, Chazz,"

"You're a complete and utter asshole?" Christina offered.

Slade glared at her, then turned his gaze to Chazz, "_You_ are only allowed to duel with monsters that have less than 500 attack points in our duel!"

"What the-?!" Chazz glared at them.

"500 attack points?!" Syrus gasped.

Jaden shook his head, "This is a joke, right?! Say no, Chazz!" he urged.

"It's too late for that," Slade wagged a finger, "Way too late,"

-Flashback-

_"Very well," the Academy owner looked at them again, this time his brunette bangs covering his eyes, "I accept those terms. Now get the hell out of my office,"_

-End Flashback-

"So, it's all decided, Chazz," Slade shrugged lightly, "Nothing can be done,"

"This isn't fair!" Jaden protested.

Slade smirked, "No, it's not, but then, that's the point!"

The elder Princetons began to laugh, but Banner shut off the TV just in time.

Chazz put his hands in his pockets again, turned around and headed for the door, "Guess we gotta pack up our stuff, huh?"

Jaden and his friends looked at him, stunned at the response.

"Chazz, wait a minute!"

The former Obelisk stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around.

"You can win this!" Jaden said

"For real!" Syrus added.

"You can go and kick that freak's ass from here to the moon!" Christina threw in.

Chazz shook his head, "Don't you get it? I can't...there's no way. Duel Academy is through,".

With that, Chazz walked out of Shephard's office, everyone staring as the door closed behind him.

-----

It didn't take long for news to spread through the school. Chazz heard whispers of his schoolmates buzz around him as the students from each dorm stood in his way. Every step he took, he always heard a different one.

"This is terrible!"

"This is totally Chazz's fault,"

"I heard that he's already accepted defeat...,"

"Of course, he has! He probably _wants_ his brothers to win!"

"We never shoulda let him back in here!"

"Well, you know what _I_ think?"

Chazz stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Jaden standing behind him, a calm, but serious look on his face.

"I know that you're all dead wrong," Jaden looked at the students, "Chazz can duel, because I've dueled him myself," he looked towards Chazz, "And duelists don't come closer than him,"

Chazz scowled, "Yeah, I know that. _That's_ exactly the problem, Jaden!"

"What's that mean?" Jaden asked him.

"Honestly, Chazz, you're not making any sense,"

"Bastion's right, being tough is usually a good thing, Chazz,"

Chazz turned around to see Bastion, Jordan and Alexis standing behind him.

"The might Chazz, chickening out?" Jordan shook his head, "Sad day...sad day indeed,"

"Look, it's-," Chazz started.

"If it's about Chazz being too tough, specifically his deck. It's about him not even being able to duel,"

Chazz turned and saw Zane walking up to him, closely followed by Syrus and Jaden.

"What do you mean?"

Zane looked over his shoulder, "What I mean, Syrus, is that his deck isn't built with monsters that have less than 500 attack points,"

Jaden blinked, then looked at Chazz, "So that means...,"

"My cards are all _too_ powerful," Chazz explained, "Because of that condition my brothers set up, my deck is useless! All I got left...," he pulled out the Ojama Yellow card from his coat pocket, "...is _him_,"

Everyone around him gasped in disbelief at the sight of the card.

"_Him_?!" Jaden stared at the Ojama card, "You can't make a deck with just one card!"

"He may not have to...,"

Chazz and the others turned around to see Banner sitting nearby on a stairway, Christina next to him, holding Pharaoh.

"This is just a rumor, but given the circumstances, I think it'd be worth investigating," Banner smiled slightly, "Now supposedly, my students, _deep_ in the woods is a very old well. Within this well, lay a great many cards. You see, they were discarded by duelists who believed them to be too weak to ever use in their decks," he held up a finger, "Of course, the spirits of these cards are sure to be angry for being left behind,"

"Oh yeah?" Chazz frowned, "Well the Chazz has a feeling that they're gonna be perkin' up real soon, because I'm gonna go find that well and enlist some new monsters for my deck!"

-----

Chazz walked down a dirt path in the woods, a large backpack over his shoulder. He was on a mission and nothing was going to keep him from completing it.

"Hangin' out with the crew in the schoolyard, findin' trouble never lookin' too hard-,"

Chazz stopped and looked over his shoulder, at Jaden and Siho, "You know, you don't have to follow me everywhere!" he snapped at the tailing Slifers.

Jaden grinned, "Yeah, but who's gonna look out for ya if you get jumped by angry duel spirits?" he asked, "I mean, the whole academy is counting on you, Chazz!"

"Gimme a break," Chazz turned around and started walking again, "Like Banner said, it's probably just a rumor anyway,"

"Then explain _those_," Siho stopped in his tracks and pointed ahead.

Chazz looked ahead and skidded to a stop just as four spectral forms shot out of nowhere, moaning loudly.

"Ok...maybe not,"

"Those guys don't look very happy...," Jaden commented, watching the spirits fly around, moaning.

Chazz scoffed, "They're harmless. They're just low-level Duel Spirits. Look,"

All of a sudden, the spirits flew down upon the group and each one phased through the boys.

Siho looked down, touching his chest as soon as the spirit went back into the air, "Dude...,"

Chazz looked up at the spirits, "Remember, weak spirits. They're kinda like the annoying roommate I got crashin' in my deck,"

"Hey guys, look, the well!"

Chazz and Siho turned to see Jaden pointing off to a small hole, not too far away from them.

"What was your first clue, Slacker?" Chazz cracked as they walked over to it, "The hole in the ground?"

Chazz reached into his pack and pulled out a rope ladder. After tying it to a trunk, he threw it down the hole, hearing the wooden rungs clack loudly as it became a regular ladder.

First, he went in, followed by Jaden, and then Siho.

The well area underneath the ground was huge. It had many cards lying around in the dirt and on rocks.

"Check out these cards...," Jaden looked around, "I can't believe people would toss these away,"

Chazz walked forward a bit and knelt down, looking at the cards, "It's just like Banner said,"

Siho and Jaden knelt down beside him, looking at the cards.

"You could build a weak deck in no time with these cards," Jaden murmured.

_And I could snag some of these for my own deck_ Siho looked around, _Not too bad...not too bad at all._

"In case you knuckleheads didn't notice, this is private property!"

"Yeah, that's tellin' 'em!"

All three Slifer boys looked at the ground in front of Chazz to see two small spirits standing before them. One was a green colored monster with a muscled body, bikini briefs, large white teeth, a long tongue sticking out of them, and a rather large, single, yellow eyeball.

The other was a black colored monster, with a chubby body, identical bikini briefs, and it's forehead seemed to be dominated by an over-sized nose. Unlike the green one, the black one had two eyes instead of one eye.

"Numbskulls like you ditched us here, so we don't want you here!" the black one snapped.

"Yup, yup, yup, yup," the green one nodded.

Chazz turned to Siho, "If you ask me, these guys are a few cards short of a deck," he muttered.

"Hey!" the black monster glared at Chazz, "Who you calling 'short', Chowdahead?!"

"Yeah...," the green added with his own glare.

"Listen," Chazz turned back to them, "We didn't leave you here, someone else did because you're _weak_,"

"It's true...,"

"We're weak!"

Both spirits began to bawl as the horrible truth of their strength came to light.

The three boys winced at the crying and covered their ears to dampen the sound level.

"I'm sorry!" Chazz yelled over the crying, "I take it back, ok? Get over it!"

"We're all sorry!" Jaden added.

"I ain't, I didn't do anything!" Siho snapped.

Ojama Yellow popped out from behind Chazz, holding his head, "What's all the racket out here, I'm trying to sleep!"

The crying spirits stopped instantly, staring at the Ojama in disbelief.

"Is that...," the black one pointed to him.

"Yes!" the green one nodded rapidly.

Ojama Yellow rubbed his eyes, then looked at the other spirits, "Black...Green? Is that you?!"

"OUR LOST BROTHER! OJAMA YELLOW!" both Black and Green cried happily.

"My brothers!" Ojama Yellow leapt off of Chazz's head and landed into the welcoming arms of his long lost brothers.

"Welcome back!" the other spirits shouted as they spun their sibling around in joy.

Jaden whistled at them, "Whoa, talk about a family reunion...,"

Chazz scoffed, "Maybe a dysfunctional one...," he stood up and turned back to the ladder, "I'm goin'...,"

"Going?" Jaden turned to him, "Why, Chazz?"

"Yeah, rich-boy," Siho raised an eyebrow, "Thought you needed these things,"

Ojama Yellow turned to his brothers, "Boss...isn't exactly a big fan of Duel Spirits," he explained, "He might decide to leave you two here,"

"LEAVE US?!" Black and Green yelped.

Black glared at Chazz, "Who do you think you are?! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"I'd do what he says, he gets violent...," Green warned.

Jaden facefaulted, "So much for _weak,"_

"You're taking us!" Black and Green shouted together.

"AND US TOO!" more and more spirits gathered in front of the Ojama brothers, "Don't forget about us!"

Siho had back laughter as the group of Duel Spirits got bigger and bigger. Each spirit didn't want to be there, and they were begging Chazz to take them with him.

Jaden looked at Chazz, "Well?"

Chazz sighed and slumped his shoulders, "Well, I guess it can't hurt. Fine," he looked back at the monsters, "Anyone who wants to come with me can-,"

A roar of cheers echoed around the cave as all the spirits cried out happily.

"-but there's _one_ condition," Chazz held up his finger.

"I know!" Ojama Yellow flew at him, "Lotsa hugs, right?"

Chazz screamed and batted the annoying monster away from him as best he could. But that couldn't stop Black and Green from joining in.

"Hugs, coming up!" the remaining brothers shouted as they joined their yellow sibling.

While Chazz tried to keep the trio of Ojamas away from him, the rest of the monsters yelled as loud as they could, very happy at their newfound freedom.

-----

"You did _what_, Kristerr?!"

Khamille's mother glared at her son as she, Khamille, and Kristerr stood in Chancellor Shephard's office later that evening.

"Mother, I know you want to bring Khamille home, as much as I do, but I've been thinking," Kristerr cleared his throat, "If we were to drag Khamille home, she'd probably run away again. _But_, if she is beaten in a duel, then her spirit will be crushed and then she'll _want_ to come home on her own free will,"

Her mother looked at him, then at her daughter, "Yes, that would seem more effective...," she looked to Shephard, "How you people ever let her in is beyond me...don't you have to check with her guardian's first?!" she hissed.

Shephard cleared his throat, "Technically, yes, but according to the files that were filed under her alias, Kristerr's...I mean, Khamille was older than most people and therefore, free of guardian supervision,"

"And you fell for that?" the older woman scoffed, "My, how _do_ you manage to enforce rules on this school when you can't even do the proper research?"

Shephard frowned, not really liking this woman with each passing second.

"Well, Kristerr," she turned to her son, "Since this seems to be workable, who will be her opponent and when will it take place?"

Kristerr looked at Khamille, then back at his mother, "I'll be her opponent...you know how good I am, there's no way she'd win,"

"Yes, yes, of course," the woman nodded thoughtfully, "Who better to teach my runaway daughter a lesson in dueling than the true duelist of this family?" she snickered, "Now, when shall this duel take place?"

Kristerr looked over to Shephard, "Well...,"

His mother glanced at the Chancellor, "Well..._what_?"

Again, Shephard cleared his throat, "We...haven't decided on that just yet. We have three options. It must take place tomorrow. It can either be before Chazz's duel with Slade, after it or...,"

"Or tag team with Chazz against our brothers," Khamille finished his thought.

Shephard slowly nodded.

Mrs. Tong clapped, "Well, won't _that_ be an interesting show? I say we do that,"

"Unfortunately, it's not up for _you_ to decide, ma'am...," Shephard leaned back in his seat, "It's up to your children on the time of the duel,"

Khamille looked at her brother, who looked at her.

_No matter what time it will be. I gotta win...I belong here! _she thought, hand going down to her deck belt.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: wow...man, snobbish ppl suck, huh? Ok, i'm not entirely sure on the duel(s) themselves, but they'll be in the next chap altogether. I just thought the challenge and Khamille's explanation made this chapter long enough...hehehe. ja ne**


	53. Ojama Armageddon

**Ojama Armageddon**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**"Ladies and Gentlemen, todays match will not only determine the fate of Duel Academy, but it will also decide whether or not one of your own stays or goes home...,"**

Chazz and Khamille walked up onto their end of the large dueling platform, duel disks on their arms and decks already in them.

"Chazz, just concentrate on your brother and I'll do the same for mine," Khamille hissed, "I got a feelng that no matter what, even if this is considered a tag-duel, just concentrate on one guy...,"

Chazz looked at her, "If you say so...but you gotta tell me what the hell is going on with you being on here," he snapped, "This was supposed to be about just my brother and I and now I got a crossdresser with her brother duelin' with us,"

"Just shut up and concentrate on Slade...I'll deal with my own flesh and blood,"

**"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce todays duelists. Chazz Princeton and Khamille May Tong vs Slade Princeton and Kristerr Tong!"**

Khamille could hear people murmur amongst themselves, probably wonder what the heck was going on with her and this duel. She didn't care right now, and she also didn't want to be distracted by them.

**"Are you ready to duel?"** the announcer yelled into his mic.

The audience cheered loudly, showing their anticipation and excitement.

Slade grinned as he pulled on his duel disk over his suit sleeve. He looked right at Chazz, "It's not too late to back out now, little brother...just tell me if you want to,"

Chazz frowned, "What does _this_ tell ya?" he asked, turning on his duel disk.

Khamille turned on her own disk, eyes never leaving her own brother.

"Thank you for this," she mouthed silently.

"Just make it look good...she's watching us," he mouthed back as his own disk whirred to life.

"Bring it on, chumps!" Slade snapped, slapping his deck into his active duel disk.

"LET'S DUEL!" the four of them screamed.

**C: 4000  
Kh: 4000  
S: 4000  
Kr: 4000**

"Check this out!" Chazz drew a card, only to slap onto his field, "I summon Soul Tiger (0/2100) in defense mode!"

-----

The gang watched as a large, blue-furred tiger appeared on their friends field.

Alexis tapped her armrest, "With that attack point handicap on Chazz, I bet we're gonna hear that alot,"

Jaden shrugged, "Who needs attack points when you got defense points like that?"

-----

"You're up..._bro_,"

"Why thank you," Slade drew his card, "I activate the Spell card Polymerization to fuse Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) and Divine Dragon-Ragnarok (1500/1000) to summon King Dragun (2400/1100)!!"

From the pinkish Dragon and the caped Spellcaster, came a frightening monster with a long, glowing tail and a fierce body that seemed to be surrounded by colorful flames.

"Check out his special ability," Slade grinned, "Once, every turn, I can Special Summon one Dragon-Type monster from my hand," he pulled one out and slapped it onto his disk, "Like this one for example. Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400)!"

Everyone gasped as another, prism-colored Dragon appeared on the field with a deafening roar.

-----

Jaden's eyes widened at the field, "Two monsters with 2400 attack points _each_?!"

"This is gonna be ugly," Christina muttered.

-----

Chazz shook his head, grinning, "Big whoop,"

"I think you mean 'big _whooping_'," Slade cackled, "King Dragun, attack Soul Tiger with Fire Scourge!" he ordered.

Khamille was stunned that Slade's attack went through, blowing the tiger to bits. She waved her arms, "HEY! I thought this was a tag-duel! You're supposed to wait your turn!"

Slade smirked, "Screw that. This is just between us...so stay out of it and worry about your own duel, you transvestite," he turned to his second monster, "Now, Luster Dragon #2, attack Chazz directly with Emerald Flame!"

His Dragon fired a stream of fire that engulfed Chazz, the younger Princeton screaming at the pain he felt from the blast.

_Damn..._ Chazz grunted, looking up at his brother, _I don't need this!_

**C: 1600  
Kh: 4000  
S: 4000  
Kr: 4000**

-----

"He got nailed," Jaden murmured, watching his friend get blasted.

"So much for all those defense points," Bastion shook his head.

Christina kicked an empty seat in front of her, "This is bullcrap! I don't know what's going on here with those other guys, but Slade's totally ignoring the tag rules!"

"That may be, but no one's objected to it," Zane said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Just calm down and watch the duel, Christina...,"

-----

"I guess it's my turn, huh?" Khamille drew her card, "Alright...I place two cards facedown, and then I'll summon Mechanicalchaser (1850/800), then I'll do this," she placed a card in a slot underneath it, "I play the Union monster known as Heavy Mech Support Platform (500/500) and equip it to my Mechanicalchaser, boosting it's attack and defense points by 500! I'll end my turn with that,"

Mechanicalchaser w/ Heavy Mech Support Platform (2350/1300)

"Not a bad opening move, sister," Kristerr nodded, "You've definitely learned something here," he reached down and drew his card.

"Go, Trap card!" Khamille pressed a button on her disk, "Activate Solemn Wishes! Now, for everytime I draw a card, I gain 500 Life Points!"

"With this duel, you might just need it!" Kristerr looked at his hand, "I summon Elite Goblin Attack Force (2200/1500) in attack mode, and I'll play the Equip Spell card called Sword of Deep-Seated!"

A group of heavily armored Goblins appeared, and seconds later, they each held an indentical, black bladed sword.

"This card boosts my monster's attack and defense by 500 as well," Kristerr explained as his goblins were surrounded by a black aura.

Goblin Elite Attack Force (2700/2000)

"Elites, attack Mechanicalchaser!" Kristerr ordered, pointing to the Machine-monster.

The Goblins roared and stormed around Khamille's monster, slashing and cutting into it and the Union monster.

"Activate second Trap card!" Khamille cried as her monster took punishment, "Spirit Barrier!"

Seconds later, the field was covered in a cloud of smoke. The arena was soon cleared out to reveal that Khamille's monster was still there!

**C: 1600  
Kh: 4000  
S: 4000  
Kr: 4000**

Kristerr frowned, "What did you do?"

"Heh...two things. One thing," Khamille pointed to her Spirit Barrier Trap card, "As long as there's a monster on my field, all potential Battle Damage to my points are turned down to zero!"

"But your monster _should've_ been destroyed!"

Khamille wagged her finger, "Normally, yes. But that Union monster I had? When my main monster is attacked, while the Heavy Mech Support Platform is on it, the Platform gets blasted instead of my Mechanicalchaser! Sure," she shrugged, "with my Platform gone, it goes back to it's original power...,"

Mechanicalchaser (1850/800)

"Fine...I end my turn with a facedown card," Kristerr watched as his Goblin's went defensive, "and thanks to my Goblin's effect, they're switched to defense mode, and with my Sword of Deep-Seated, they're defense power is higher than ever,"

Goblin Elite Attack Force DEF (2700/2000)

-----

"Impressive," Zane nodded slowly, "She's managed to keep a monster on her field and take no damage whatsoever with a combo of a Union monster and a Spirit Barrier...,"

Siho looked at him, "How long can you think she can keep it up?"

Zane shrugged, "Personally, I'm not concerned with her," he nodded to Chazz's side, "It's him I'm worried about,"

-----

Slade looked at his brother, "Your move, Chazz...,"

"About time," Chazz drew his card, "I'll throw a monster down in defense mode, and that's all,"

"_That's_ all? This'll be over than I thought!" Slade drew his next card, "I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode!" he paused as another glowing Dragon appeared on his field, "Don't forget Dragun's ability! With it, Hyozanryu (2100/2800) is summoned!"

Chazz looked up as the fourth Dragon came to the field, growling and snarling.

"_Four _monsters?"

"Good for you, you can add. But, tell me little brother, can you subtract?" Slade pointed to his monster, "Teach Chazz a lesson, King Dragun, and take out his last monster!" he ordered.

The Fusion monster roared and fired another blast of flames at Chazz's facedown. As the flame hit, the card was flipped upward and a sad young woman appeared, before she was blasted off the field.

Slade snickered, but his laughter was cut short as his monsters were soon suddenly covered by hundreds of ugly, tiny creatures in cloaks.

"What's going on?!" he demanded.

"Multiplication," Chazz said calmly, "When Unhappy Maiden (0/100) is sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, hundreds of her little friends pop in and ends your turn,"

Slade glared at him, "So you last a little bit longer...,"

"Mhm," Chazz looked at Khamille, "Go on and take your turn," he muttered.

Khamille nodded and drew her card, "Thanks to Solemn Wishes, I gain 500 Life Points as I draw,".

**C: 1600  
Kh: 4500  
S: 4000  
Kr: 4000**

She looked at her hand of three cards, "Alright...I play Pot of Greed, and this lets me draw two more cards!" she drew her new cards, and watched as her points went up, "Thanks to that and Solemn Wishes, I gain another 1000 Life Points!"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 5500  
S: 4000  
Kr: 4000**

"Next, I play Polymerization to fuse my Spirit Reaper (300/200) and Nightmare Horse (500/400) to summon Reaper on the Nightmare (800/600)!"

Khamille's newest monster appeared on the field, the Spirit Reaper riding ontop the Nightmare Horse, swinging it's scythe around.

"I now activate Reaper's effect," Khamille pointed past the Goblins, "He can attack you directly! Reaper on the Nightmare, attack Kristerr with Scythe Strike!" she ordered.

The undead horse neighed and galloped over, past the Goblins, the Reaper holding it's scythe high in the air.

"Don't think so, Kham!" Kristerr shouted as the horseman came closer, "Activate facedown Trap card! Go, Skill Drain!"

The Reaper on the Nightmare was suddenly thrown back to Khamille's side of the field before it got a chance to slice him.

Khamille frowned, "Hate that card,"

"I know, and I'm glad you remember it," Kristerr chuckled, "By giving up 1000 Life Points, I can negate the effects of all Effect Monsters on the field. So, your Reaper's attack is canceled and my Goblin Force is back in attack mode,"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 5500  
S: 4000  
Kr: 3000**

-----

Mrs. Tong frowned, "What is my son doing? Why did he play that Trap card? If he hadn't played it, he wouldn't have lost 200 more Life Points!" she looked over at Jagger who stood nearby, "I guess it wouldn't matter, seeing as you have your brother in his place now. Even if Khamille wins, which I doubt, Slade will win the Academy and Khamille will have to come home with me anyway!"

Jagger grinned, "It's a win-win situation," he laughed, "and may I say, Mrs Tong, your daughter is lovely,"

"Oh, I know...pretty, but stupid," Mrs Tong shook her head in disappointment, "As soon as she gets this dueling nonsense out of her system, I need to get her with a fine young man who can lead her on the right path,"

She stood there for a few moments, then walked over to Jagger, smiling, "Tell me, Mr Princeton...,"

"Please, ma'am, call me Jagger,"

"Alright, Jagger...what say we add one more condition to Khamille's duel?"

-----

"My turn now," Kristerr drew his card, "I place one card facedown and end my turn,"

Chazz drew his next card, "I call upon the Spirit of the Breeze (0/1800) in defense mode and then I activate the Spell card, The Dark Door!" he declared, slipping the card into his disk slot, "As long as this door is open for business, Slade, we can only attack with _one_ monster!"

"Nice try, bro, but it's only a matter of time before I bust that door down," Slade drew his card, "Now, King Dragun attack with Fire Scourge once again!" he commanded.

The Fusion Dragon roared and blasted Chazz's monster to smithereens.

"Chazz, how you holding up?" Khamille yelled over the blast.

"I'm doin' just fine, just keep goin'!" he yelled back.

"If you say so...," Khamille drew her card, smiling, "Once again, Solemn Wishes gives me 500 more points,"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 6000  
S: 4000  
Kr: 3000**

"Next...I'll try this again," she pointed to her brother, "Reaper, attack with Scythe Strike!"

Once again, the undead steed galloped over to Kristerr's side, only to be blasted back to her side of the field.

"Nice try, sister...I play the effect of Skill Drain again. Another 1000 Life Points paid so that that effect won't be used,"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 6000  
S: 4000  
Kr: 2000**

_Hate that card...but it's working to both of our advantages..._ Khamille sighed, "End my turn,"

"Good," Kristerr drew his card, "First, I summon Chainsaw Insect (2400/0)!" he slapped the card onto his field and a large bug with jagged, sharp mandibles appeared, "Chainsaw Insect, attack Mechanicalchaser!"

The bladed insect crawled over to the Machine Monster and rammed it's mandibles through the outer shell. The Machine monster exploded, sending the Insect to Kristerr's field.

"Since Chainsaw Insect battled your monster, you get to draw another card from your deck,"

Khamille nodded as she drew her card, "And thus, more Life Points to me,"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 6500  
S: 4000  
Kr: 2000**

"Yep...but not for long!" Kristerr held up a card, "I play Lightning Vortex! I'll discard one card from my hand, namely my Luster Dragon, and with that, your remaining monster is destroyed!"

Khamille remained calm as her Spirit Reaper was destroyed by the lightning bolts.

"Next, I'll attack you directly with my Goblin Elites!"

Khamile braced herself as the Goblins came and struck her hard with their powered-up swords.

**C: 1600  
Kh: 3800  
****S: 4000  
Kr: 2000**

"I end my turn,"

-----

Mrs Tong checked her watch, "This is just a big waste of time. I don't care what my son suggested to the Chancellor, this was a mistake. Once this is over, I'm either giving all of Khamille's dueling things to Kristerr, or throwing them in the trash,"

Jagger smiled, "Well, I assure you, Mrs Tong, when Khamille loses, I'll make sure that she only does things that are suitable for a lady,"

"Hope so,"

-----

"My turn!" Chazz drew his card, "I play Catnipped Kitty (0/500) in defense mode!" he cried as a small, purple kitten with strange marks and a happy look on it's face appeared.

"A _cat_?" Slade scoffed.

"You can do better?" Chazz shot back.

"You're about to find out!" Slade drew his card and chuckled, "With _this_ little card, you're school is mine. But hey, first things first. Let's declaw that kitty! Dragun, Fire Scourge!"

The Catnipped Kitty yelped before being burned away from the field.

"Next, I'll place a facedown card and end my turn,"

-----

"A facedown?" Siho frowned, "Got a bad feeling about this...,"

Zane nodded, "He's probably setting himself up to destroy Chazz's Dark Door,"

"This...is gonna be interesting," Christina mused.

"Yeah, but so is that," Jaden pointed to Khamille's duel with her own brother, "Something's going on between them...I dunno what it is, but it's like...well,"

"Like her brother is really dueling, but he's also holding back on her," Zane finished.

"But why?" Alexis asked him.

Siho shook his head slowly, smiling, "I know why...," he murmured.

-----

Khamille drew her card, "500 more to me, bro," she giggled, as her points went up.

**C: 1600  
Kh: 4300  
S: 4000  
Kr: 2000**

She looked at her hand, "Kristerr...allow me to show you, what I've been packing since I've come here!" she slipped a card into her disk, "I activate the Ritual Spell card known as End of the World!"

-----

"End of the World?!" Zane leaned forward, "_She_ has one of _those_ cards?!"

"What cards?" Syrus, Christina and Jaden asked together, "What are you talking about?"

Zane shook his head, eyes not leaving Khamille, "There's a set of cards created by Pegasus that is modeled after the supposed final days of earth and all mankind. They're so rare, I thought it was a myth...but," he shook his head again, "Looks like she's about to prove that they exist after all,"

-----

"I sacrifice, from my hand, my Dark Blade (1800/1500) and my Zombrya the Dark (2100/500) in order to summon...," she paused as the ground in front of them began to crack and heavy clouds appeared above them, lightning flashes filling the room, "Demise, the King of Armageddon (2400/2000)!!"

From the earth, a huge figure in heavy armor and a very large axe in it's hand. The armor had skulls and golden shoulders while the axe gleamed heavily in the arena's light. Everyone, even Slade and Chazz, looked on at the monster in amazement.

"You want me to come home, then you gotta through the King!" Khamille yelled, "I know play his effect! By giving up 2000 of my own Life Points...,"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 2300  
S: 4000  
Kr: 2000**

"I can destroy every card on the field besides His Majesty!"

Kristerr glanced at the others, then shook his head, "Don't think so! I play the effect of Skill Drain again!"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 2300  
S: 4000  
Kr: 1000**

"Now, that effect can't go through," he grinned.

Khamille shrugged, "Maybe not, but his attack can. Demise, attack his Chainsaw Insect!" she ordered.

The axe-wielding King roared and brought it's heavy axe down upon the beetle.

"Go, Trap card! Waboku!"

As soon as the axe touched down, all the power coming out the blade just as it touched the bug.

"My Trap card makes it so the battle damage from your monster's attack goes down to zero," Kristerr explained, "It also saves my monster from being destroyed,"

Khamille grinned as she drew a card, "It didn't stop the effect of the Chainsaw Insect for battle. Thanks to it, I gain a new card, and in combination with Solemn Wishes, that's 500 more Life Points again,"

**C: 1600  
Kh: 2800  
S: 4000  
Kr: 1000**

She looked at her new card and nodded, "I'll end my turn by placing this card facedown,"

Kristerr drew his next card, "Hmm...," he looked up at his sister, pointing to Demise, "Goblins, destroy King of Armageddon!" he ordered.

_This is it...the one thing that proves I deserve to be here_ Khamille pressed her button just as the monsters came at her Ritual Monster, "Activate facedown...Mirror Force!"

"Mirror Force?!" Kristerr's eyes widened.

"You heard me! Now, every monster on your field that's in face-up attack mode, is destroyed!" Khamille grinned as a mirrored veil appeared between her monster and her brother's monster. The veil glowed as the Goblins attacked, then flashed brightly, sending a wave of energy onto the other side.

Kristerr looked away as his monsters were blown to pieces. He inwardly grinned, _Nice one...bring it home on the next turn, Khamille._

"I end my turn,"

-----

Mrs. Tong frowned deeply, "My son is the best duelist in our family, how could he possibly have made such a foolish mistake?!"

Jagger shrugged a little, "Who knows. But it won't matter, because Slade's gonna win this and you'll still get your daughter back,"

"Oh, believe me, I"ll get her back and teach her not to disrespect those who know what's best for her!"

-----

"It's my draw!" Chazz drew his next card.

Slade grinned, "Yeah, that's right, and because it is, I can activate my facedown. It's a Trap called Dust Tornado! You know what's in this things path, Chazz?"

Chazz growled as a large twister appeared and sent his Dark Door flying into the air.

Jagger laughed, "Looks like the school's ours, bro,"

"Prepare the wrecking ball, Jagger," Slade smirked.

"That's what you think, _bro_," Chazz held up a card, "I play Painful Choice! I know you're a little slow, so I'll use small words. I pick five cards from my deck, and you choose one of those cards. The card that you picked is added to my hand," he looked up as five large holograms appeared above him.

Four of them were monsters: Relinquished (0/0), Castle Gate (0/2400), Copy Cat (0/0), and Royal Magical Library (0/2000). The fifth and last card was a Spell card.

"Ooh, how scary," Slade taunted at the sight, "Five weak cards from one weak deck. Whatever will I do?" he asked mockingly, pointing to the Spell card, "I pick the one that's not a monster, Thunder Crash!"

"Thank you...," Chazz slipped the other four cards into his Graveyard, "I was _hoping _you'd pick that one!"

Slade raised an eyebrow, "You _were_??"

"Yeah, but I'll explain that later," Chazz slipped a card into his disk, "I play Enchanted Bidding Room! First, I play 800 Life Points to look at four cards...,"

**C: 800  
Kh: 2800  
S: 4000  
Kr: 1000**

"...and, if any of them are Level 3 or below monsters, I can summon them," he paused as another four cards appeared in front of him, following the appearance of a large curtained stage, "Obviously, Pot of Greed isn't a monster card, so I'll just summon the three monsters I have. The Ojama Brothers: Ojama Green (0/1000), Ojama Yellow (0/1000) and Ojama Black (0/1000)!!!"

Slade had to hold back a laugh as the three hideous Ojamas appeared, "You've got to be _kidding_! You pin the hopes of this entire Duel Academy on those freaks?!"

"That's right," Chazz nodded, "You're about to see why. Sure, they look funny, they smell real bad, and no one really likes them, and they never shut up...,"

The Ojama Brothers facefaulted at the hurtful words of their boss.

"...but these guys taught me something important!"

"You should eat dessert first?" Green asked.

"Flies taste great?" Black wondered.

"Bathing is optional?" Yellow threw in.

"That good bros support one another!"

Slade frowned, "So I _haven't_ been a good bro?"

Chazz nodded, "Which is why I don't feel bad for doing this!" he slipped a card into his disk, "I play a Spell card known as Ojama Delta Hurricane! Do your thing, boys!"

"Right on, Boss!" the Ojama trio cried before jumping into the air.

"Yellow!"

"Black!"

"Green!"

The three of them met one another, their bikini clad rears touching, "COMBINE! OJAMA DELTA HURRICANE!"

They began to slowly spin, but that soon became a very blurry wheel as it spun so fast, no one could tell which one was which anymore. The spinning disk of Ojamas hovered directly over the four Dragons that Slade owned, and within seconds, a loud boom was heard, and the four monsters had vanished into a thick cloud of smoke.

"What happened!?" Slade demanded, "They're all gone!"

"Thanks to a thing called _brotherly love_!" Chazz snapped, "Here's how it works, Slade, when all three Ojama Brothers are on the field, Ojama Delta Hurricane can destroy all your monsters!"

The three Ojama's came back to Chazz's side, striking poses.

"Look who's weak now!" they cried together, "Time to take him out!"

"Oh yeah, and with this...Thunder Crash!" Chazz slipped the card into his disk alongside the Hurricane card.

All the Ojama's turned around and looked at the hologram of the card.

"Guys, what's Thunder Crash do?" Yellow asked his brothers.

Green shook his head, "Don't ask me, I left my reading monocle in the well,"

Black peered at the card thoughtfully, "It seems, Chazz can deal 300 points of damage to his opponent for every monster on his field that he decides to destroy," he explained.

Green and Yellow looked at one another, "Did he say destroy?!"

All three Ojama's huddled together, horrified, "No, boss, say it ain't so!" they pleaded.

"Sorry, guys, have to!" Chazz gave them a small salute, "See ya around. Go, Thunder Crash!"

The three whimpering Ojama's became beams of light, that soon took the form of lightning bolts and struck Slade hard in the chest, dealing a small amount of damage.

**C: 800  
Kh: 2800  
S: 3100  
Kr: 1000**

"That doesn't mean a thing, you got that?!" Slade barked after the attack, "Your deck is still full of weaklings and _my_ deck is full of rare and strong monsters raring to tear you apart!"

Chazz grinned as he pulled one of the final two cards from his hand, "Don't think so, Slade...thanks to all the cards in my Graveyard. I summon Chaos Necromancer (0/0)!"

As soon as Chazz slapped the card onto his disk, a caped figure with a horrible face, clawed gloves and a purple, smooth face appeared, cackling.

"Sure, he starts out weak, but he gains 300 attack points for each monster card in my Graveyard!" he held up his disk, "So with eleven monster in my Graveyard, Chaos Necromancer gains 3300 attack points! How's _that_ for weak, Slade?!"

"No way!" Slade stared in horror as his brother's weak monster soon gained immense power due to it's effect.

Chaos Necromancer (3300/0)

A group of green-flaming orbs appeared above Chazz, three of them had the Ojamas inside.

"Hey," Yellow looked down at the platform, "We're back!"

"He _does _love us!" Green and Black shouted.

"No...hold on a second!" Slade yelled.

"Now, Chaos Necromancer," Chazz pointed to his defenseless brother, "Attack with Curtain Call Catapult!" he ordered.

Jagger watched as his brother was soon bombed by eleven flaming orbs of monsters, tossed by the Necromancer, who laughed wickedly at the deed.

"No fair!" he yelled as Slade was hit.

Chazz grinned, "You go bye-bye!".

**C: 800  
Kh: 2800  
S: 0  
Kr: 1000**

"Time to finish my own duel," Khamille muttered as she drew a card, "I may still gain Life Points, but I won't need 'em...Demise," she looked at her fearsome King, "Attack Kristerr with Armageddon Axe Slice!".

Kristerr closed his eyes and calmly waited as the giant monster lumbered over, swinging it's axe around. The King of Armageddon roared and brought the axe down hard, sending Kristerr flying to the edge of the platform, landing on his back.

**C: 800  
Kh: 3300  
S: 0  
Kr: 0**

Everyone around them cheered wildly, excited at both the duels, and the fact that Chazz had saved the school from being torn down. Chazz snapped his head towards the crowd and held up his arm in victory, "You guys know the cheer!"

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!"

Jagger glared at Slade as his brother came down off the platform, while Khamille's mother walked up to her son, looking very disappointed in him.

"Imbecile!" Jagger smacked Slade upside the head, "How could you lose this?!"

Slade pushed him off and looked over his shoulder at his brother, "Relax, Jagger...it's only _one_ duel," he muttered.

Jagger frowned, "But look at him! That victory has turned Chazz into a hero for them, and a major headache for us!"

Mrs Tong looked down at her son as he lay on his back, "Kristerr...you've gone and failed me,"

"I'm sorry, mother," he said quietly as he sat up.

"Don't you say you're sorry!" Mrs Tong snapped at him, "Now go and collect your sister, we're going home!"

Kristerr looked at her, then turned to see his sister go off into the arms of her friends, "No...,"

"What...did you just say to me, young man?!"

"I said _no_," he hissed, turning back to her, "So I lost one duel...and against my own sister. It's not like this was televised like the School Duel awhile back,"

"I don't care. Go and collect her!"

Kristerr shook his head and hopped off the platform, "Sorry, mother, but a deal's a deal. You of all people should know that. She won, so she stays. If you have a problem with that," he lightly glared at her, "You can take it up with both of the Chancellor and the lawyers of his boss,"

Mrs Tong watched, stunned at her son's behavior while Kristerr walked away.

The young man headed for the exit and saw that Kairi was standing in the doorway, eyes wide.

He grinned, "You saw?"

She nodded silently.

"Heh...well, she stayin'," he patted Kairi on the shoulder, "So go make up...because now, she's _your_ problem," he said jokingly before exiting the arena.

Mrs Tong huffed and stormed over to Khamille as Kairi made her way over too.

"Young lady, I want you at the docks in thirty minutes, do you understand?" she snipped.

Khamille rolled her eyes at her, "For God sakes mother," she saw Kairi and pulled her close to her, "Let me live my own life...and not yours,"

"Khamille May Tong, I am your mother and I will _not _be talked to in such a disrespectful manner! Your little charade has embarassed me and-,"

"That's just it, mother!" Khamille interrupted, "It's always about _you_. I go into ballet, you brag about how much of a better dancer I am to everyone else's child. I go into pageants, and you push me and push me, so you can show me off like a dog at a pet show. I am just a teenager mother, and I would like to have some fun before I become some self-absorbed, greedy, conniving old bitch like you!"

To top that off, Khamille turned to Kairi, grabbed her head, pulled her close and kissed her long and hard in front of her mother and everyone else around her.

After what seemed like forever, Khamille let go and turned back to her mother, and smiled at her horrified expression, "Mother...I am a duelist, and I'm gonna stay one for as long as I want to. Got that? I'm not some puppet of yours,"

Mrs Tong pursed her lips, spun on her heel and stormed away.

"Hey, could you guys kiss again, I missed that?,"

Khamille and Kairi turned to see Siho standing a few short feet away, holding Chumley's camera.

"C'mon, smooch her again! I'll give you five bucks!" he offered, "Also, can I have that King of Armageddon card, that would really work in my deck?"

Cracking her knuckles, Khamille slowly advanced on Siho, "You...had...better run...," she hissed.

Siho gulped and bolted, Khamille close behind him.

Christina shook her head as Kairi stood very still in place, eyes wide in shock at the kiss she had just recieved.

"You ok?" Christina tapped her friend on the shoulder. Kairi slowly nodded, then fainted.

-----

"Sir, we have news on the duel that the Princetons made with you,"

"And?"

"They've lost sir, and the student they chose to go against has won,"

The man scoffed and turned away from his employee, looking out at the city below him, "Of course he won! You honestly think I'd give my school to those losers? Those two have a lot to learn about world domination,"

-----

That night, Chazz laid back in his bed, not very happy as his new spirit roommates made so much noise, it could wake the dead. The main source of the noise was the Ojamas chasing one another back and forth in front of him.

Finally, after so long...

"GET OUT OF HERE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, swiping at the Ojamas, "I didn't sign up for this!"

Yellow floated up to him, "Aw, c'mon boss, those guys wanna be your friends! Now, let's go get some pizza!" he offered, "I call extra anchovies!"

"I don't _want _anchovies!" Chazz yelled at them, "And, I don't want any friends, or roommates, or pets, or...or...or whatever the hell you guys are!"

"In that case, boss, just call us family!"

_Oh God, kill me now... _Chazz pleaded mentally as he put a pillow over his head to drown out the noise.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: wow, long one. Ok, I wasn't sure how i could do an actual tag-team match her, so I kinda bent the rules as you can see heheh...uh...well, anyway, with Khamille and Kristerr, I do hope I did a good job, and if by chance, any of you get confused while reading back and forth from their turns, I apologize.**

**Catch ya on the next one, ja ne!**


	54. Knowledge of Magnetics

**Knowledge of Magnetics**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: hey, ya'll, your friend Kilnorc here! I seem to have either ruffled a few feathers or made some people pray that both Khamille and Kairi become a couple, lol, I gotta say, I LOVED the reviews and reactions you guys sent me...made me laugh. As for them being a true couple... -shrugs- who knows? I might turn 'em into a girl/girl couple...MWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Yami K: ...uh...yo, dude?**

**Kilnorc: hm? Oh, anyhoo, while you're waiting for that to happen, check this out. Time for another Shadow Rider!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Bastion stood on a high cliff, staring out at the saw as the morning sun slowly began to rise. He took a deep breath, and stretched his arms, taking in the morning air. With his morning stretches done, and his head clear, he gazed back out at the waves.

_Ever since Jaden defeated Camula, things have been eerily quiet...**too** quiet. When the next Shadow Rider arrives, it may be **my** turn to duel, and with two of the seven Spirit Gates open, it's more important than ever...that I be prepared._

Bastion reached into his pocket and pulled out his own Spirit Key, the thin necklace thread tied to his belt loop. He stared at the Key for a short moment, then began to undo his blazer buttons.

After opening his blazer, Bastion looked at the six decks he carried around on a vest. One deck was used on Chazz that day he dueled him for the chance at Obelisk Blue. Bastion had made these six decks to fit each attribute of monster cards. The one he used against Chazz, the one with that used a Water Dragon, was his water-attribute deck. The other five were his Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, and Darkness decks.

_Good thing I'm well equipped_ he thought as he took out one deck and began to look through the cards. Some he recognized from previous duels, but there was one that he didn't recognize at all. It was a monster card that showed an image of a small girl in white with a white lamb hat and red pom poms on her robes. It was a White Magician Pikeru (1200/0).

Bastion raised an eyebrow and held up the card, "Where on earth did _this_ card come from?" he asked himself. He looked around a few times, then back at the card, shaking his head, "Silly distraction...," he muttered, placing the card back into the deck, "_Nothing_ distracts me!"

-----

Banner yawned as he entered the Slifer Red dorm for some breakfast, but when he went in, he was surprised at what he saw. Siho was laying ontop of one of the tables, blanket and pillow, a leg and an arm sticking out and over the sides.

_What on earth?_ Banner walked over and poked Siho, "Siho, wake up,"

Siho snorted and rolled over, "I don't wanna go back to the petting zoo, mommy, the goats will eat me...," he mumbled.

Banner stood there, unsure of what to make out of that.

"Siho! Wake up!"

The black-haired Slifer opened an eye, yawned and sat up, rubbing his head. He looked around and noticed Banner standing next to him.

"Hey, teach...you know, you should knock before coming in my room,"

"Siho...this is the mess hall, not your room,"

Siho blinked, and looked around again, "Huh...yeah, you're right. For a second there I forgot that,"

Banner shook his head, "What are you doing here instead of your room anyway?" he asked.

The Slifer yawned again and hopped off the table, "I blame the three Slifer chicks...,"

_Oh my..._ Banner glanced up at the ceiling, "I know it's hard for some to get adjusted to, but it's something we have to do,"

-Flashback-

_Khamille stood in front of Banner, Doctor Crowler and Chancellor Shephard in the main office, a happy look on her face._

_"Ok, so what's up? I gotta get my stuff moved in the girls dorm at Obelisk,"_

_Banner cleared his throat, "Unfortunately, Miss Tong, there is a problem with that,"_

_Khamille looked at all of them, "What, the girls dorm being renovated?"_

_"I'm afraid not. Since you had arrived at our school, and became an Obelisk Blue under an alias, and with false references, I'm afraid that your staying with us...counts as a transfer student,"_

_"...you mean?"_

_Banner nodded, "Yes. You are now a new student, and you must start out at Slifer Red, just as Chazz did,"_

_Khamille stood there quietly, then nodded, "Ok, good enough, I'll just work my way up again. Although, personally I don't care if I get there or not, ya know? Just some familiar areas are good for a person," she shrugged, "We done?"_

_Crowler wagged a finger, "I'm afraid that with your level of deception, even though you're now counted as a new student, there must be **some** punishment for you,"_

_"Aw man...,"_

_"I'm sorry, Khamille, but I'm afraid we can't give anyone any special treatmeant, not even one with a prestigious family,"_

_"Oh, god, don't remind me that I'm related to my mother," Khamille groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose._

_Crowler cleared his throat, "So, as of today, you will have double the homework of anyone else, and you must follow all the rules,"_

_Khamille shrugged, "Ok...double homework, and rules...that's fine, I can follow the rules, piece o'cake,"_

_Banner chuckled, "I'm afraid that means **all** rules. Including the dress code,"_

_Gulping, Khamille began to pale, "You mean...**skirts**?"_

_All three of the faculty nodded._

_"But...but...,"_

_"I'm afraid there's no argument here, Miss Tong," Crowler shook his head, "Rules are rules,"_

-End Flashback-

Banner shook his head at the memory, "I just hope we don't regret it...,"

"Hey, you got nothing to worry about...it's Chrissy I'm worried for,"

"Oh yes," Banner sighed, "She probably would've been able to keep her own dress code if Khamille hadn't said anything,"

Just then, a loud boom shook the Slifer dorm building, sending bits of dust and wooden splinters from the ceiling.

Siho looked up at the ceiling, "What the hell was that?"

Banner waved him off, "Don't worry about it. I saw Bastion going up to Jaden's room...that was probably the wake-up call he prepared,"

-----

"One, two, draw! One, two, draw! One, two, draw!"

Jaden yawned as he, Chumley, Syrus and Bastion went through some ridiculous dueling exercises their Ra Yellow friend had woken them up for.

"Yeah, _this _was worth getting up for," he muttered under his breath.

"Quiet," Syrus whispered as he drew, "You'll make me lose count,"

Chumley looked over at the card Syrus and just drawn and took the Slifer's hand, holding it still so he can get a better look at it. The card was a monster card, that had the picture of a cute girl with red hair, small cat ears, and a leapord-skin leotard.

"Hey, isn't that Thunder Nyan-Nyan (1900/800)?" he asked.

Syrus smiled and took the card back, "Yeah, it is. I got her a little while ago," he blushed lightly, "I sorta have a card crush on her," he confessed.

"A card crush, that's so lame, Syrus," Chumley pulled out a card and showed it to him, "Check out mine!"

Syrus laughed weakly as he looked at the Dian Keto the Cure Master card Chumley showed him, "Yeah...that's great, Chum, real pretty,"

"I know," Chumley withdrew his card, "It so totally reminds me of my real girlfriend back home, her name is Sally...no, wait, Adrianna!"

Syrus turned around, "Hey, Jaden, you have any card crushes in your deck?" he asked loudly.

Jaden grinned, stopping in his exercise, "Sure do! They brings loads of luck for me!"

"I beg your pardon?!"

All three Slifers turned back to see Bastion, with an unhappy look on his face.

"I thought we were training here!" he snapped, "And training, gentlemen, does not include standing around and talking about birds!"

"Did he say 'birds'?" Syrus whispered to Chumley.

The larger Slifer leaned to the side, "Ya know what? I'm starting to think that Bastion doesn't have a card crush,"

"A crush on a _card_?! Of course not!" Bastion snapped again, "That's just illogical, irrational, and ridiculous!"

At that moment, a memory flash of the White Magician Pikeru card came to his mind and he stopped in his harsh words. Quickly coming back to his sense, Bastion shook his head, forgetting about the card.

"Look, let's just get back to our dueling exercises, alright?" he sighed.

Syrus nodded, "Sure, but I do have plans to play Solitaire with Thunder Nyan-Nyan in about fifteen minutes," he said, holding up the card again.

"WHAT?!"

Bastion's outburst made both Chumley and Syrus fall over, startled by the apparently crazed Ra.

"You'll be breaking that date, and soon, breaking a sweat!" Bastion said firmly, hand going back to his duel disk, "Now, gentlemen, back to our duel training!"

Syrus groaned as he climbed to his feet, "That means the dog house for me, Nyan-Nyan _hates_ it when I cancel on here...,"

Jaden glanced at his roommate, "Somehow...I think she'll understand,"

"You think?" Syrus looked up at him.

Chumley nodded, "Totally, it's not like she's a real girlfriend like Sally-er, Adrianna,"

-----

Later that day, the Slifer Boys, Bastion, and a small handful of other students from different dorms sat in Banner's Alchemy class.

Banner frowned at the sight of so many empty seats as he pet Pharaoh, "There certainly a lot of absences today. Perhaps there's a bug going around,"

_None that I've heard of_ Bastion thought, looking around at the empty seats, _There's definitely something strange in the air...well... _his eyes roamed over to Syrus, Jaden and Chumley, who were enjoying a well-earned, yet badly timed nap, _Besides all that snoring._

The sound of the door hissing open made Banner turn to see a young lady in orange walking up to him, holding a duffel bag.

"Can I help you?" the Slifer head asked her.

"Well," the lady in orange leaned in close to him, "Do you recognize this bag?" she whispered.

Banner looked down at the bag, "Yes, it belongs to one of my students, why?"

While the girl whispered some more to Banner, Jaden woke up and saw what was going on. He took one look at the bag and knew that something was up, as did the other Key-Keepers that sat nearby.

-----

After class, Jaden led Syrus, Banner, Chazz, Chumley, Alexis, Bastion, Siho, and Khamille through the woods, holding his own bag close to him.

"Wonder why that pack was left all the way out here...?" he wondered aloud, walking through a thick area of trees.

Bastion nodded, "Indeed...also, where the owner of the pack is right now?"

"I hope that no one is hurt," Banner added, worriedly.

Khamille looked around, "Maybe they just went camping and forgot about it?" she offered.

"Or maybe...Jason Voorhees got them and now, their severed heads are on wooden pikes right now!"

Banner turned and glared at Siho, "That's just a movie, Siho! Stop putting bad images in my head,"

After what seemed like hours of walking, the group of duelists exited the forest and entered a large clearing, surprised at what stood before them. A very large stone and wooden structure loomed nearby, against a small cliff. It looked just like an old colosseum from ancient Rome or Greece.

"Where did _this_ come from?" Jaden asked, staring at it.

Bastion frowned, "I'm going in," he declared before taking off ahead of the others.

The group ran, following him into the large building and stopped shortly after coming in. Inside, stone seats and pillars decorated the interior of the colisseum. But that's not what got their attention. About a dozen of Academy Students from every dorm were in different areas of the colosseum, handling large stone blocks and working with ropes to drag the stones around.

Syrus pointed to one of them, "That guy's from class!"

"Her too!" Chumley pointed to another student.

"Oh my...," Banner murmured as he pet Pharaoh.

Chazz scanned the area and his jaw dropped as his eyes widened when they landed on one worker in particular.

"CROWLER?!"

At Chazz's either surprised or horrified shriek, everyone else looked up to see Crowler trying to move a large stone block with a crowbar.

"What are you doing?" Syrus called out to him.

Crowler looked at them and smiled proudly, "A man's work!"

"A _man's_ work?" Banner repeated, holding his chin in thought, "My, they must've been running very short on men,"

Both Khamille's and Siho's faces turned red as they held in their laughter. Neither of them expected Banner of all people to make a crack at Crowler like that.

A loud roar made the group look back ahead to see a huge tiger standing right in front of them.

Siho paled, "Aw...f-,"

Before he could finish, the tiger roared again and began to run at the group. Screaming, they all ran to a large pillar on the other side of the arena, not really wanting to be a part of the tiger's dinner.

Banner looked behind him, "First a colosseum, now a tiger! What's next, a gladiator?!" he yelped as he followed his students into climbing up the large stone pillar.

"Actually, I think she prefers the term of Amazon!" Crowler yelled over the tiger's growling.

"_Amazon?!_" Siho repeated, "I swear to Ra, when I get my hand on Chrissy, I'm gonna kill her!"

"What makes you think it's her?!" Alexis snapped at him.

"Hello...Amazon?" Siho scooted just out of reach of the tigers jaws, "Who else could it be?!"

"Bass! Come!"

Everyone on the pillar looked back behind the tiger to see an impressive looking woman. The woman had a well-built body, tight black pants, long red hair tied into a ponytail, a set of goldent bracelets and a spike collar around her neck...and two long scars that went from above her right eye all the way down to her chin. To finish off her ensemble, she had this duel disk that had a perfectly straight field wing, and the entire disk was a silvery color with laced edges. The woman jumped off a high ledge and landed on the ground, smiling.

"I must say, thanks to your friends, I've finally been able to finish my glorious arena!"

Jaden raised an eyebrow at the woman as the tiger went over to her, "Arena...for _what_?" he asked.

The woman smirked as she petted the tiger, who was by the way, almost as tall as her, "Dueling, of course,"

Jaden and Siho watched as the missing students and Crowler lined up a short distance away. The woman pulled out a stack of envelopes and walked over to them, beaming.

"Job well done!" she praised, "Who would've thought that Duel Academy students were such good laborers?" she started to hand out an envelope to each student, "Now, as promised, here's your payment. Some rare cards, which I might add, are _very_ well deserved. Until next time, my friends,"

Crowler held out his hands expectantly. The woman looked at him, "What do you want?"

"Why, I want _my_ rare cards!" Crowler smiled slightly, "I did work like all the rest, you know," he reminded her.

The woman scoffed, "I don't think so,"

"What?!" Crowler gaped at her, "Why not?!" he demanded.

"Because...well, to tell you the truth, I find you be ugly, and I don't think you deserve some rare cards,"

"Why you...," Crowler started to advance on her, but was stopped by the tiger, Bass. The huge feline stepped in his way, growling loudly.

Crowler screamed, turned around and bolted out of the arena, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, Big Sis...what about me?"

Siho and Alexis groaned at the new voice as they slid down the pillar.

Christina stepped into view and hopped down in front of both the tiger and the woman, a large grin on her face.

"Was wondering where you were," the woman patted her on the head, "I'll give you your reward later, as soon as I'm done,"

"Hey!" Jaden yelled at them while the others climbed down, "What is goin' on?!" he demanded.

The woman chuckled and turned around, facing him, "I'm setting up the stage, Key-Keeper, for your vanquishing. I'm one of the Seven Shadow Riders," she explained, "Tanya, the Amazon!"

Jaden stared at her, "Uh-oh...,"

"A Shadow Rider?" Syrus repeated, "Oh man...,"

"You mean 'Oh wo-man'," Chumley muttered, walking up beside him and Alexis, "Amazons are a warrior race of _all _females,"

Alexis whistled, "Wow...you go, girl!"

Tanya nodded a little, "Now that the battleground is complete, it's time that we battle! Now...," she looked at the group of students, "Which of you big strong men will it be?" she asked teasingly, before taking a glance at Alexis, "After all, I'd never harm a sister,"

"Hey, don't do me any favors," Alexis shot back at her.

Khamille shrugged, "Well, at least one person is safe...I guess,"

Siho rubbed his eyes, "Chrissy..._what_ are you doing over _there_?" he asked slowly.

The Slifer girl shrugged, "Well, besides hanging out with a tough female duelist, working to get some rare cards, and playing with a big ol' kitty...not much,"

"_Big ol' kitty_?" Khamille glanced at the tiger, then at Siho, "Does she have a fetish for furry things?" she whispered.

"It's possible, but I have no proof at the moment," Siho whispered back.

"So, who wants to be the first one to duel and lose?" Tanya challenged, looking at the group.

"Right here!" Jaden stepped up.

"Your's truly!" Chazz added, joining the Slifer at his side.

"I'll duel you!" Bastion declared.

"Uh...," Banner turned around and walked to the edge of the wall, "I'm good for now...,"

Alexis and Chumley sweatdropped at Banner's attitude, but didn't say anything at the moment.

Tanya looked at the boys, "Hmm...if this is really the best you have to offer, then I guess I'll pick...," she pointed to the middle duelist, "...you!"

Chazz and Jaden looked between them at Bastion, who was smiling a little bit.

"Well, I guess you can't win 'em all," Jaden muttered, walking back to join his friends, Chazz right behind him.

The tiger walked over to Chrissy as Tanya and Bastion walked towards each other, leaving a good distance between them.

"What's your name?" the muscular woman asked.

"Bastion," the Ra answered, "Bastion Misawa,"

Jaden clapped his hands, "C'mon, go get her pal!" he cheered.

"Don't go easy on her because she's a girl!" Syrus yelled.

Chumley gulped slightly at the sight of Tanya, "She's not like a girl I've ever seen,".

"Alright, let's do this," Bastion tore open his blazer to reveal his six-deck vest, "The only question is which deck shall I use?"

Tanya grinned a little, "Really? I have that problem, too. I have two decks," she held up two seperate set of cards to prove her point, "One is a deck of Knowledge, and the other is a deck of Courage," she tilted her head to the side, "Why don't you go ahead and pick which one for me to use?"

"Fine then," Bastion looked at the decks for a few moments, "I'll pick the deck of Knowledge,"

Siho leaned over to Khamille, "Guy's an uber-nerd...saw that coming a mile away!"

Tanya chuckled as she inserted her Knowledge deck into her disk, "Nice choice...,"

"Thank you, but it's not nearly as nice as the choice I'm making for myself," Bastion looked down and took the middle deck on the left side of his vest, "I select my Earth-attribute deck," he declared slipping it into his disk.

"Earth-attribute deck?" Siho repeated, "Who the hell uses a deck based entirely on _one_ attribute?!"

Khamille shrugged slightly, "Few people do it...heard a guy that was in Battle City and the KC Grand Tournament all those years back? He used a deck using Light attribute monsters...,"** (1)**

"Let us begin!" Tanya ordered, turning on her disk, "Don't worry, this isn't a Shadow Game...,"

"Beg your pardon?"

"You heard me," Tanya shot back, moving from side to side in her place, as if filled with giddy, "I want _you, _Bastion. It's like this: my tribe is _all _women. So, to marry, I gotta shop around,"

"To _marry_?!" Bastion gawked at her.

"That's right...so let's do this," Tanya winked at him, smiling.

Both of them drew their cards as their points went to full count.

"DUEL!"

**T: 4000  
B: 4000**

"Me first," Tanya drew her sixth card, "and first, I'll summon the Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) in attack mode!"

With a battle-cry, a large, well-built woman with wild, red hair appeared, holding a long, curved blade tightly in her hands.

Christina squealed at the sight of the monster, "I've never seen a Swordswoman before! Awesome!" she praised.

"Thank you, my friend," Tanya slipped a card into her disk, "I'll also place one card facedown and end my turn,"

"I'm up then," Bastion drew his card, "I summon to the field Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus (1800/1500) in attack mode!" he paused as a strange, monster carrying a slab-like shield and strange rectangular armor appeared, "Now, Magnet Warrior, attack that Amazoness!" Bastion pointed to the Swordswoman! Lode Stone Baton Bash!"

The Magnet Warrior raised it's bo staff as it charged with crackling energy and everyone watched as it collided with the Swordswoman, destroying her in a mighty blow. But something strange happened. Syrus noticed this when he saw the Life Point meters.

**T: 4000  
B: 3700**

"Why did Bastion just lose Life Points?" the small Slifer asked.

Tanya smiled, "That's due to my Amazoness' effect. Bastion took all the battle damage she received from the attack of his Magnet Warrior,"

"Dude!" Christina sat down and rocked back and forth, eyes lit up, "That's awesome...I gotta get me one of those!"

"Christina, whose side are you on!" Siho yelled at her from across the colosseum.

"Shut up, Zolaro, I don't care who's dueling for what here, I'll always root for the Amazons!" she shot back, "So back off, I'm going for my battlefield sisters here!"

Chumley shook his head, "Besides those two," he glanced at his dueling friend, "Bastion walked right into that one,"

Alexis nodded, "That's not like him at all...,"

"Or maybe it is," Jaden leaned forward, "Sure, Bastion has fewer Life Points at the moment, but Tanya has fewer monsters!" he grinned, "Smart move...,"

"Yes...at least, until I play my facedown card!" Tanya cried as her card became upright, "It's called Pride of Tribe. This Trap card activates whenever an Amazoness' is destroyed, and it let's me summon another one from my deck. Who's the smart one now?" she asked with a smile as another Amazoness Swordswoman appeared on her field, "You see, you miscalculated with that last move. After all, now we have the same amount of monsters...but not the same amount of Life Points!"

Bastion looked at her, breathing deeply, then slipped a card into his disk, "Fine. I'll place a card facedown...and that will suffice,"

A dreamy look entered Tanya's eyes, "_That will suffice_? Say it again!" she begged, "It sounded so cool!"

Syrus turned to Jaden, "You know, I think it's been a couple of years since Tanya's been with a guy, Jay...,"

"Couple of years, Sy?" Jaden shook his head, "Try _decades_...this chick is man-crazy!"

Bastion smiled a little, "I'm quite flattered, but I'm well aware of what you're trying to do. You're trying to distract me, but I'll tell you right now my dear, it's not going to work, I'm too focused,".

"Oh, are you? We'll see about that," Tanya drew her card, "I play the Amazoness Blowpiper (800/1500)!"

As a blue haired woman with a large, bone pipe appeared, Bastion pressed a button on his duel disk, "And _I_ play my facedown, Magnet Force Minus!" he paused as red lightning bolts shot out of his card and wrapped itself around the Blowpiper, "When this card is activated, it can equip onto one monster, and whatever monster it's equipped to gains a negative magnetism and becomes what's known as a Minus monster,"

Tanya blinked and looked her monster, "Oh...,"

"And what's more dear," Bastion continued, "Two Minus monsters? Well, the possibility of them fighting is zero, but when a Plus monster and a Minus monster are out, they _must_ fight!" he looked at his Magnet Warrior and watched as it too, was surrounded by crackling energy, only yellow instead of red.

"So...since Amazoness Blowpiper is a Minus monster...," Tanya looked from her monster back to Bastion.

"...and Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus is a Plus monster," Bastion grinned, "It's on. Now, you may have heard that quote 'opposites attract'? Well, I'm afraid it's true,"

Tanya nodded and looked away, "I know it...just look at the two of us!"

"Stop it!" Bastion snapped.

"Stop it?" Tanya held up a card, "How about I stop you from winning this battle instead? Go, Amazoness Spellcaster!"

Siho slapped himself in the face, "Figures...,"

"Now, an Amazoness monster and one other monster on the field exchange attack points with each other," the Amazon Shadow Rider explained, smiling a bit.

_What?!_ Bastion grit his teeth as the two monsters switched points.

Amazoness Blowpiper (1800/1500)

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus (800/1500)

"Attack! Amazoness Blowpiper!"

The blue-haired Amazoness shot a long, thin dart and struck the Magnet Warrior in the head, destroying it easily.

**T: 4000  
B: 2700**

"Now, Amazoness Swordsman will attack you directly!" Tanya pointed to Bastion, "Amazon Slash Attack!"

The burly woman with a curved blade leapt towards Bastion and ran her sword diagonally across Bastion's chest, hitting him fast and hard.

**T: 4000  
B: 1200**

"That was fun...,"

Bastion panted, recovering from the attack, "But...how? That's two times that she's managed to out-think me...,"

"I guess we know where our kids are going to get their smarts from...," Tanya teased.

"What?! Our kids?!" Bastion gaped at her, "We're enemies! Rivals!"

Tanya smiled, "During this duel, yes, but afterwards, we'll be betrothed to each other. Just think about it: you'll be Mr Tanya the Amazon Woman!"

Siho gagged while the others around him groaned at the idea of Bastion hooking up with the Shadow Rider.

"You're relentless," Bastion muttered, "Truly, are you _that_ smitten with me?"

"I prefer _in love_,"

"You hardly know me!"

"I know enough...my little sugar booger,"

Siho banged his head against the stone, "God. Take. Me. Now. Please,"

_Keep your cool, Bastion, she's just trying to distract you_ Bastion told himself mentally, _Like those silly card crushes distract Syrus and Chumley_. He thought about Thunder Nyan-Nyan and the Cure Master and their affects on the Slifers, but then he thought about the White Magician Pikeru he found in his deck.

"No!" he gripped his head, "I'm above all this!" he shouted.

On the sidelines, Jaden, Chazz and Syrus sweatdropped at the sight of the Ra.

"Bastion sure is acting weird...," Jaden commented.

"Love works in mysterious ways...," Syrus nodded.

Bastion turned and glared at them, "Quiet! I'm not in love!" he shouted.

_And I'll prove it by taking Tanya down!_ Bastion turned back to his opponent, "My turn!" he drew his card and nodded, "Right...I activate Magnet Conductor Plus! This card allows me to bring back a Plus monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, so come on back, Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus!"

He reached down and plucked the card from his Graveyard and added it to his hand, "But he won't be staying around for long, because he and the Magnet Warrior Omega Minus (1900/600) from my hand are going right back to the Grave so that I can summon Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus (2700/2400)!" **(2)**

Everyone watched as an impressive monster of golden armor and large purple cannons appeared on Bastion's field, cannons moving from side to side.

"Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus?" Khamille propped her head onto her hand, "Now _that's_ one helluva tongue twister...,"

"Now, I activate Magnum Plus Minus' special abililty!" Bastion declared, "It adds half the attack points of one monster on the field and adds it to the Magnet Warrior's attack points! So I'll take half of your Blowpiper's attack and add it to Plus Minus!"

C.W.L.M. Plus Minus (3100/2400)

"He's got her outmatched now!" Jaden cried, staring at the power shift.

"Now, Warrior Magnum, attack Amazoness Blowpiper with Polarizing Pulverizing Blast!"

The powerful Plus Minus monster blasted both cannons at full power and hit the Blowpiper dead on, blowing her to pieces and taking a huge chunk out of Tanya's Life Points.

**T: 1700  
B: 1200**

"Next, I'll place two cards facedown and I think that'll do for me," Bastion said as he slipped two cards into his disk, and as his monster's attack strength went back to normal.

Tanya smiled and wiggled around in her place, "What a move!" she praised, "No wonder I'm in love with you! And, sweety, because I do, I have to beat you," she became serious again and drew her next card, "and with Amazoness Swordswoman's ability, even when she loses in battle, _you_ take damage. Now, Amazoness Swordswoman, strike down Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum Plus Minus with Amazon Slash Attack!"

_This is it! I better think fast or this duel is going to be over fast!_ Bastion thought as the Amazoness came flying at his superior monster.

"Sorry, Tanya, but I play a facedown!" Bastion pressed another button on his disk, "Power Off! Now, my Plus Minus monster reverts back to the two monsters that originated him!"

Tanya watched as the Plus Minus split into two seperate Magnet Warriors just as her Swordswoman slashed. The move caused her two miss, the attack failing.

"No fair!"

Christina glared at Bastion, "That's right, Bastion, that's not fair at all! Just like a man to take victory from a woman's grasp at the last second!"

Alexis and Khamille sweatdropped at their friend's outburst.

"She's really pissed at Bastion too...,"

"I think she's an elitist feminist or something,"

Siho groaned, "Nope..just crazy,"

Jaden stood up and clapped, "Tight move!" he shouted.

Bastion closed his eyes and nodded calmly, "Yes, I agree...,"

Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus (1800/1500)  
Magnet Warrior Omega Minus (1900/600)

"I guess I'll just get you next turn," Tanya said quietly as she placed a card onto her disk, "And with Amazoness Paladin (1700/300) on the field, you can be sure that I will,"

Christina squealed as the blonde Amazon appeared, "I have her! She's my favorite!"

Tanya chuckled, "You must love her ability as well, sister,"

"Uh...what ability?"

Slowly, Tanya looked over her shoulder, staring at Christina, "You play Amazoness' but you don't know the Paladin has an effect?" she asked slowly.

Christina only shook her head.

Siho looked at Khamille, "That would explain why she had trouble beating her opponents at times. If she knew about the ability of the Paladin, she might've had easier times and more victories,"

Khamille nodded, "Yeppers. She needs to read the effect explanations on the cards more often instead of attack and defense points...,"

Tanya turned back, "With Paladin on the field, she gains 100 extra attack points for every monster on the field that has Amazoness in it's name," she explained to both Bastion and Christina.

"That mean herself, too?"

"Yes, sister, herself too,"

Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)  
Amazoness Paladin (1900/300)

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus (1800/1500)  
Magnet Warrior Omega Minus (1900/600)

"Next, I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn," Tanya slipped them into her disk as her Paladin powered up.

_At least she's concentrating on her dueling instead of on me_ Bastion thought as a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, "Alright, my move now,"

"Speaking of moving, sweety," Tanya looked at Bastion longingly and chewed on her thumbnail a little, "I think...it's best that you move in with me...you know, after we get married? Oh, we'll have the coziest home sweet home!"

Bastion blinked, taken back at those words.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I distracting you again?" Tanya twiddled her fingers, "With all this talk about how much I love you, and how positively handsome you are?" she giggled, "There I go again, I should stop!"

Bastion stepped back a couple of inches, hand over his chest and his face turning a little red.

"I simply can't help myself!" Tanya cried, "I'm head over heels!"

Bastion's face turned from serious to a dream-like trance, "Yes...me too...,"

Jaden paled, "Any barf bags on this flight?"

"Oh man...Bastion's getting all flushed _and_ sidetracked," Syrus noted, shaking his head.

Siho climbed onto the stone wall, an angry look on his face, "BASTION MISAWA! YOU FALL TO THIS STEROID TAKING CHICK AND YOU WILL SHAME EVERY SINGLE MAN HERE! YOU WILL BRING ABOUT DISGRACE TO THE MALE GENDER! SO SNAP OUT OF IT, DUMBASS, AND PUT THIS GIRL IN HER PLACE!"

Khamille, Chrissy and Alexis frowned at Siho's scream, thinking the exact same thing.

_He's so gonna get his ass kicked as soon as this is over..._

"My turn," Bastion drew his card, "I summon Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus (1500/1800) in attack mode!".

Another Magnet Warrior, this time, a strange one with what looked like spiked innertubes around it's body appeared, carrying a large, spiked club in one hand.

"Next, I'll play my facedown: 100,000 Gauss! You see, I can activate this when I have a Minus monster and a Plus monster on my field. This lets me switch one of your monster to attack mode and it drains that monsters attack points by 800! Since all your monsters are in attack mode as it is, I'll just drain Amazoness Paladin!"

Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)  
Amazoness Paladin (1100/300)

"That's sweet!" Jaden slapped the wall in front of him, "Now, Bastion has all the monsters beat! This duel is in the bag!"

Tanya smirked, "I would think so too, if not for my facedown card, Dramatic Rescue!" she pressed a button on her disk and soon her Paladin disappeared, "By returning one monster from the field to my hand, I can summon a different one!" she explained as she placed a card onto her disk, "You're about to see that this one is _very_ different. I summon Amazoness Tiger (1100/1500) in attack mode!"

A large tiger, much similar to the tiger that Christina was sitting next to, appeared on the field roaring, one of it's eyes closed, a large scar over it.

Christina's eyes went wide, "...they have a tiger...?"

"Don't try catching _this_ tiger by the toe, because she gains 400 extra attack points for every Amazoness on the field!"

Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)  
Amazoness Tiger (1900/1500)

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus (1800/1500)  
Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus (1500/1800)  
Magnet Warrior Omega Minus (1900/600)

"And, when this card is out, you're not allowed to attack any other Amazoness except it," Tanya explained.

"He has no choice?" Alexis repeated, "He _has_ to attack the Tiger?"

_Simple_ Bastion looked at his monsters, _I have three Magnet Warriors out. I'll use one to destroy Amazoness Tiger, then another to destroy Amazoness Swordswoman, then I'll use the remaining one to attack Tanya directly and win the duel._

"Fun duel, my dear, but I'm afraid that it's about to be over," Bastion pointed to the Tiger, "Go! Magnet Warrior Omega Minus, attack and tame that Amazoness Tiger!"

Tanya chuckled as Bastion's Magnet Warrior marched to her tiger, "You _must_ be distracted, otherwise you would've seen that I have a facedown. Go, Amazoness Archers!"

Bastion looked at revealed Trap card, stunned.

"Sorry, hun, but now all of your monsters lose 500 attack points and they're all forced to wage battle!" **(3)**

Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus (1300/1500)  
Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus (1000/1800)  
Magnet Warrior Omega Minus (1400/600)

Syrus moaned, "But if that happens, he'll be forced to attack that Tiger!"

"And it has more attack points than _any _of them!" Jaden added.

"He walked right into a trap!" Chazz growled.

Siho turned away, "I tried to get through to him, but as always, guys fallen for the girls always lose their concentration...then they get owned by them,"

Tanya looked up as the Magnet trio leapt at her, "Now, Amazoness Tiger, show Bastion that opposites don't just attract, but they attack. Sic 'em with Fang Frenzy!" she ordered.

With amazing speed, the Tiger flew past the three Magnet Warriors, tearing into them without mercy. As soon as the tiger landed, the field was covered in a thick cloud of smoke as the Magnet Warriors were destroyed.

**T: 1700  
B: 0**

Bastion looked at her, smiling, "I'm...all yours," he whispered before falling onto his face. His key was visible under him just before it disappeared with a glow.

"Bastion!" Jaden leapt over the wall and ran towards his friend.

Tanya looked behind her, "Bass...,"

The large tiger moved, making Christina fall over while it roared and started to chase the others towards the gate. The gates were closing just as they were leaving and as the lagging one, Siho had to slide underneath it just as it got real low. Luckily, he made it, just a few moments before the gate connected with the dirt.

"God...I...hate...cats...," he panted as Jaden ran up to the gate, gripping the bars.

"Bastion!" Jaden yelled, "Christina!"

Tanya walked up to the gate, smirking, "Sorry, but your friends are going to stay the night with me. Bastion and I are gonna have our honeymoon, but before we get to that, I think I need to show your friend the true potential of the Amazons. So, get lost!"

Jaden glared at her as she walked away, walking towards Christina while Bass, the huge tiger walked alongside her.

"THIS ISN'T OVER! YOU HEAR ME! IT'S NOT OVER!"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Wow...not only did a friend fall head over heels for a Shadow Rider, one friend got recruited to be trained in the way of the Amazon. Before I go, I have a few things to mention, or to clear up.**

**(1) This mention of a duelist in Battle City and the KC Grand Prix using Light Attributes, that's a reference to Harold Kumara, who is an OC and a very important character to Phantom 1's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar series. Check it out sometime. I used that reference because I thought if Bastion had decks based around different attributes, why not mention a Light user?**

**(2) I couldn't find the defense points for Bastion's Conduction Warrior, but given the level and attack of it, I just winged it.**

**(3) This is the true effect of Amazoness Archers, but in the show it's 600 points instead of 500. I experimented with this and it worked, so I changed it to the original effect.**

**That's all for now, folks, ja ne!**


	55. Courage of a Hero

**Courage of a Hero**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Previously, on GX Heroes: Bastion went up against the third of the seven Shadow Riders. An Amazon by the name of Tanya, who managed to distract Bastion well enough during their duel, that she beat him and take his Spirit Gate Key. _****_Now, as Bastion suffers through a forced honeymoon, and Christina undergoes Amazon training under Tanya herself, it's up to the others to bring them both back._**

**_A woman forcing a man to marry her? Huh...and they say romance is dead._**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

That night, Bastion's screams of agony echoed throughout the dark sky as Jaden and the others huddled around a small campfire, taking in the painful cries.

Alexis sighed and poked the fire, "I hate to hear Bastion suffering like that and not being able to help,"

"No joke," Chazz nodded, "They've been dueling all night, and from those screams, it sounds like Bastion's been losing all night,"

"How long can this go on?" Banner thought aloud.

"Depends on how much energy he's got," Siho offered, "Screaming like that...the _entire_ night? You guys sure he's dueling and not...ya know?"

"Siho, that's disgusting," Alexis scowled at him.

Siho held up his hands in defense, "Hey, I'm just saying, I've been around dueling for most of my life and believe me, that sounds like the Horizontal Hustle instead of dueling. Besides, he deserves it. He lost to a girl...a girl who used cheap tricks to get what she wanted," he shrugged, "Although, I'm not surprised, all females have that in their genes,"

Khamille and Alexis glared at him while Jaden rose to his feet.

"We gotta do something!"

"Yeah!" Chumley and Syrus agreed, standing up.

A low rumbling sound began to emanate from the colosseum, making everyone look towards it.

Syrus slowly moved behind Chumley, "What is that...?" he whimpered.

Everyone else watched as Bastion slowly walked out of the colosseum gateway, looking as though he was spazzed out.

"Bastion?!" Jaden ran to his friend, followed quickly by the others, "Bastion, are you ok?".

Bastion only fell over, but made it to his knees since Jaden caught him before he could hit his head on anything.

"What happened to you in there?" Syrus asked, standing over him.

The only reply was a sorrowful look in Bastion's eyes.

Siho laughed a little at the look, "Dude, he got powned _and_ dumped!" he looked away, grinning from ear to ear, "That's just frickin' priceless!"

"Is that true, Bastion?" Jaden ignored Siho's laugh, "Did she dump you?"

Bastion nodded, "Yes...I'm crushed,"

"You're not crushed, you're lucky," Chazz muttered.

Banner frowned, "I don't understand. She was so smitten with you yesterday...,"

Bastion sighed and looked up at the sky, "I know...we were to be married!" he groaned, earning surprised looks from the others.

-Flashback-

**_But she decided I wasn't duelist enough..._**

_Bastion fell to the dirt as the last of his Life Points went down to zero._

_Tanya glared at him, "You're not worthy...beat it!"_

_"Oh c'mon, he did pretty good...," Christina walked up to her, "Give 'im another chance, Big Sis,"_

_Tanya shook her head and turned away from Bastion, "No...I need someone. Someone who is at my level,"_

_"Ok...how 'bout me?"_

_Again, Tanya shook her head, "Sorry. But I'm looking for a **male**...but I do have some more stuff to teach you,"_

_Groaning, Bastion slowly sat up and watched the two female duelists walk off towards the inner archway, "My love...,"_

-End Flashback-

"I wasn't good enough for her, and she's left me forever. She said she wants a champion, a duelist who can give her a match that she'll always remember,"

"You sure she said match and not a f-,"

Banner, Khamille, and Alexis slapped Siho upside his head, knowing full well what he was about to say. The Slifer rubbed the back of his skull, "Damn...no one appreciates humor anymore...,"

-----

Later that morning, Jaden, Chazz, Alexis, Syrus, Chumley, Siho and Khamille stood outside the Slifer Red mess hall, watching Bastion. The heart broken Ra was sitting at one of the tables with a plate of food in front of him, but he didn't even touch it.

"Bastion looks weird like that...," Chumley whispered, looking at his friend.

Syrus nodded, "He's definitely been actin' strange since this morning," he nodded towards Bastion as the Ra started to drink from a bottle, "See? That's tabasco sauce! He should be screaming because of it's spice!"

Chazz frowned, "Why is he here anyway? This is Slifer Red meal area, not Ra Yellow. Why isn't he back at his own dorm?"

"Hey, he can be here if he wants...," Khamille folded her arms, "Besides, Slifer Red food not that bad, Princeton. Sometimes it kinda reminds me of the meals back at Obelisk Blue.

Siho stared at her, "You gotta be frickin'kidding me...,"

Khamille grinned, "Nope...I'll explain later,"

"There's gotta be something we can do to snap him outta this slump," Jaden walked a few inches past the doorway of the mess hall, "Bastion! Bast-," he stopped when Bastion picked up another bottle of Tabasco sauce, unscrewed the lid, and just poured the spicy sauce into his mouth, apparently unaffected by it.

Chazz shook his head, "Forget it, Slacker. Bastion's gone bye-bye...we can't talk to him right now. It'd be kinda pointless,"

Alexis leaned her head against the doorway, "I can't believe he's like this though. Bastion's usually a calm type of guy, but now he's...well...just _out there_,"

-----

That afternoon, Bastion stood at a large window in the halls of Duel Academy, head propped up as he gazed out at the island. The images of the Amazon still fresh in his mind, as well as the memories of the duels.

He sighed, _Tanya..._

-Flashback-

_"Oh, I'm sorry, am I distracting you again?" Tanya twiddled her fingers, "With all this talk about how much I love you, and how positively handsome you are?" she giggled, "There I go again, I should stop!"_

_Bastion stepped back a couple of inches, hand over his chest and his face turning a little red._

_"I simply can't help myself!" Tanya cried, "I'm head over heels!"_

_Bastion's face turned from serious to a dream-like trance, "Yes...me too...,"_

-End Flashback-

Bastion snapped back to reality, holding his head, "Oh, Tanya!"

A few feet away, Alexis, Jaden and Siho were watching him.

Siho frowned, "Still freakin' out over that chick, huh?"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah, I've never seen him like this. I had no idea he had fallen that hard over her,"

"Yeah...," Jaden looked at his fellow Key-Keeper, "Really, it's kinda freaky to see Bastion of all people to do that over a girl,"

-----

Bastion entered the Obelisk Duel Arena and stopped shortly after, seeing a crowd of people there, waiting for him. Crowler, Banner, Khamille, Siho, Alexis, Jaden, Syrus, Chazz, Chumley, and even Zane were looking at him quietly.

He scowled at them, "What do the lot of you want?"

Jaden held up his deck, "A duel to cheer you up, man, how about it?"

"I can't...," Bastion slowly shook his head, "It's too soon for me,"

"Aw, c'mon, you gotta move on Bastion!" Jaden urged him.

Bastion looked at him, "I just can't duel...without my Tanya...,"

Siho groaned and shook his head, "Baka,"

"Bastion, I hate saying this, but she's probably dueling someone else besides you," Jaden pointed out.

Bastion let out a light gasp, then shook his head, "No, she wouldn't! Not _my_ Tanya!"

"Oh, gag me...," Chazz muttered under his breath.

"You don't understand!" Bastion snapped, "We had _passion_!"

_I knew it! Cradle robbin' Amazon! _Siho snapped his fingers, grinning.

"Uh...," Jaden blinked, confused at Bastion's words, "Say what?"

Bastion looked up at the ceiling, the smitten look never leaving for a second, "When I first dueled Tanya, there were fireworks between us! You saw how our cards danced that dangerous Duel Monsters dance together! It was beautiful, majestic...and if I can't have that feeling when I duel...then," his shoulders slumped, "My life dueling...it's all finished,"

"But Bastion, she's a _Shadow Rider_!" Zane reminded him, "We have the world to save, we need you!"

"Dude, he just lost his key, so isn't his role as protector of the world over with?" Siho asked to anyone.

_WHAP! _Chazz whopped him over the head hard.

"As much as all of you require my deck-,"

"Hell, I don't need it,"

_WHAP!_

"-until I prove to Tanya that I'm a worthy man-,"

"Fat chance of that happening,"

_WHAP!_

"-my dueling days are through now and forever!"

Chazz scowled as he rubbed his fist from hitting Siho a few good times over the head, "Alright, that's it. I'm gonna go to the bathroom and hurl,"

"Just go and ask her for a rematch," Jaden suggested.

Bastion blinked, "A rematch?"

"And don't take no for an answer!"

"Don't take no, just say NO!"

_WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!_

"SHUT THE HELL UP, ZOLARO!"

-----

"DAMMIT!"

Christina, now dressed in similar garb to Tanya's, hid behind Bass as Tanya went on a rampage. The Amazon woman seethed with anger and pounded her chest like a gorilla.

"You ok, Tanya?"

"No, I'm _not_!" the Shadow Rider screeched, "This island has nothing but _weaklings_! I need a worthy partner, someone who isn't intimidated by my power!" she punched a nearby wall a few times, then jumpkicked the ceiling, sending a chunk of rock crashing to the floor.

_Damn...she **does** have power_ Christina gulped at the display.

"If that duelist can't find me, then _I'll _find _him_!" Tanya swore, making her way to the exit. Bass rose up and began to follow her, Christina on his back while the ceiling fell in behind them.

-----

"Jaden, don't you wanna go to bed?"

Syrus yawned as he watched his roommate shift through his deck that night. He and Chumley had climbed into bed, but Jaden didn't even change into his pajamas, he was doing something with his cards.

"Not yet, I'm working on a strategy to help out Bastion," Jaden grinned stupidly, "Just call me Cupid,"

Siho raised an eyebrow, "How's about I call you Idiot in the Red?" he murmured.

"Strategy?" Chumley groaned, "How's about a good night's rest?".

A knocking at the door made Jaden rise up.

Siho crossed his fingers, "French Maid with a pizza, French Maid with a pizza...," he prayed loudly.

"Bastion!" Jaden pulled the door open all the way, "What are you doing here?"

_DAMN!_ Siho snapped his fingers, _Worth a shot..._

"The rematch, Jaden! Why aren't you read yet!?"

Jaden stared at his Ra friend, "You mean..._now_?"

-----

Jaden and Bastion ran towards the colosseum, followed by the rest of the gang, including Crowler.

"Couldn't have this waited until morning?!"

"NO! TANYA!"

"Wait up!" Syrus panted as he and the others caught up to them, "Not...fast...like...you guys,"

A loud growling made them all look off to the side, startled.

Bass leapt out of a nearby bush, with both Tanya and Christina on his back. Christina grinned and held up a V sign, "Siegfried and Roy, eat your hearts out, boys!"

_God, I'm gonna kill her for switchin' sides_ Siho shook his head slowly, frowning at his best friend.

"Tanya...," Bastion stepped forward, duel disk at the ready.

Tanya shook her head, "Can't you take a hint? I already dumped you, don't you remember?"

"He want's a rematch!" Jaden explained, stepping forward.

"He can't have one," Tanya scoffed, looking at Jaden, "But _you_ seem quite brave...,"

Jaden sweatdropped, grinning, "I _do_? But, I'm here for my friend,"

Tanya chuckled, "He already lost. I duel you, or there's no duel at all!"

"I _never _back down from a challenge. I'll do it for Bastion!"

Everyone stared at Jaden, not one of them believing what they had just heard.

"_What_?!" Chazz snapped.

Alexis closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, "Oh no...,"

-----

With everyone else at the sidelines watching, Jaden and Tanya stood in the middle of the colosseum, the pale moonlight bathing the area.

Tanya held up her two decks, "You know the rules, you lose this duel, you lose your Spirit Key _and_ your single status. Meaning you move here to this arena with me and become my husband forever!"

Chazz glared at the two of them, "Jaden, I hope you know what you're doing!"

"Of course I do, Chazz," Jaden grinned, "When I'm done, Bastion will know that you won't have to be in love to duel with passion!"

"What do ya say we start this, hon?" Tanya held up one of her decks, "I used my Knowledge deck against your friend, so I think I'll use my Courage deck against you,"

"Fine by me," Jaden nodded as they both inserted their decks into their duel disks.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**T: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Alright Tanya, get your game on!" Jaden drew his opening hand, then his sixth card, "I summon Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in defense mode!" he cried as his fine feathered friend appeared on the field, arms folded.

"_That's_ your move?" Tanya drew her card disgusted, "Well, I have someone to clip your Avian's wings. I summon Amazoness Paladin (1700/300)," she watched as her blonde warrior appeared before her, "While she's out on the field, she gains an extra 100 attack points for every monster on the field that has 'Amazoness' in it's name,"

Amazoness Paladin (1800/300)

"Next," Tanya held up another card, "I play this Spell, Amazoness Charm! This card switches all the monsters you have on your field in defense mode, to attack mode and gives them an extra 200 attack points!"

E-Hero Avian (1200/1000)

Crowler frowned at the move, "I don't get it. Why would she play a card that _increases_ Jaden's attack power?"

"For the thrill of it!" Bastion explained heatedly, "The passion!"

"So, are we enjoying the night so far?" Tanya asked Jaden, "I hope you're not getting distracted,"

"_Nothing_ distracts me from dueling!" Jaden grinned, "Didn't ya know?"

Tanya held up another card, "Maybe _this_ will make you reconsider! The card known as Amazoness Death Ring **(1)**! When this card activates, we both gain 600 Life Points and it's just not distracting...," she smiled as a huge cage arena appeared, rising from the dirt around them and closing around them creating a dome of metal bars, "it's _captivating_,"

**T: 4600  
J: 4600**

Chazz looked at the Death Ring, "Wow...she must _really_ be desperate to find a husband if she has to use a cage,"

Siho looked at the cage, "You know, this reminds me of a movie I once saw with Chrissy and her dad,"

"Oh boy," Alexis slapped herself in the face and sighed, "..._what_ movie was it, Siho?"

"I think it was _Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome_,"

"TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MAN LEAVES! TWO MEN ENTER, ONE MA LEAVES!"

Siho nodded, "Looks like Chrissy remembered it too,"

Tanya chuckled, looking at her cage, "You see, Amazoness Death Ring is a sacred arena. In here, you don't just fight with your monster, you fight with your soul!" she explained, waving her arms to show the cage some more.

"And...just _how_ do I do _that_?" Jaden asked slowly.

"Oh, you'll find out. But first, Amazoness Paladin attacks your Avian!"

The blonde warrior dashed over to Jaden's field and slashed her straight blade hard and swift across Avian's chest. The Hero didn't stand a chance and blew up in a cloud of flame and smoke.

**T: 4600  
J: 4000**

"Now, you will see the power of my Death Ring! When our monsters are done, your soul can duel mine. So, you sacrifice 100 of your Life Points to take away 100 of mine," Tanya explained.

Jaden grinned, "I guess I should warn ya, I don't ever hit girls,"

"And you shouldn't, but this isn't a fight between us. You see, like I said, our _souls_ will clash,"

"If you say so," Jaden shrugged as both his and Tanya's souls appeared out of body, ready to fight this one out.

**T: 4500  
J: 3900**

Siho stared at them, "THAT'S MESSED UP!" he screamed, making Alexis and Khamille jump.

Both souls of the duelists raced at each other and jumped into the air like some kind of enemies in an old cartoon. Jaden's soul punched, but missed it's target, while Tanya's uppercut made contact, sending Jaden's soul to the other end of the Death Ring.

**T: 4500  
J: 3800**

"Jaden!" Syrus shouted, worried for his friend.

"C'mon, Jaden, this is embarassing for all us guys!" Chumley yelled.

"Except Crowler!" Siho added, "He doesn't really count!"

Crowler glared at Siho, _Just what is **that** supposed to mean, Slifer Slacker?!_

Jaden's soul climbed back to it's feet and slugged Tanya hard across the face, sending her reeling back into her body.

**T: 4400  
J: 3800**

Tanya rubbed her cheek, "Not a bad left hook there, kid," she smiled.

"What?!" Chazz stared at her, "She's _complimenting_ his attack?!"

"Isn't she great?" Bastion sighed, earning a disgusted look from Chazz.

"If you liked that, you're gonna love this," Jaden drew his next card, "I use Polymerization to fuse Elemental Heroes Sparkman (1600/1400) and Clayman (800/2000) to Fusion Summon the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!"

Everyone watched as Jaden's Heroes combined and formed the larger Hero within a few seconds.

"Nice move," Chazz said with a nod.

Alexis smiled, "A _real _nice move! Thunder Giant's special ability can take out any monster with less attack points when it was summoned, then it can actually attack!"

"Guess this is goodbye, Paladin," Jaden waved a little as Tanya's female warrior was struck down, "I'm not done yet, Tanya. Thunder Giant, attack her directly!"

Thunder Giant gathered a large collection of electrical energy in it's hands and fired it off. Tanya growled before it hit her, then screamed as it sent her flying a few good feet away, landing on her back.

**T: 2000  
J: 3800**

Jaden waited until the smoke cleared and saw that Tanya wasn't moving. "Tanya, are you ok?" he called out to the Shadow Rider.

Tanya slowly sat up and rubbed her jaw with her strange gauntlet, "Not bad, Jaden...you're my type of guy,"

"Uh, Bastion," Banner turned to the love-stricken Ra, "I think Tanya's falling for Jaden...,"

"Course not! She would _never_ leave me!"

Siho rolled his eyes, "God, you need help,"

Tanya growled and flipped back onto her feet, "Alright, my turn!" she drew her card, smiling at what she had drawn, "First, I'll place one card facedown, then I'll summon Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) in attack mode, then I think I'll use Amazoness Spiritualism **(2)** to rip apart your Thunder Giant...," she slipped the last card into her slot and watched as Thunder Giant disappeared from the field, leaving Clayman and Sparkman on the field.

"Now, let's fight! Swordswoman, attack Clayman with Amazon Slash Attack!"

The burly swordswoman ran over and cleaved her curved blade straight through Clayman. The Hero began to slide apart in different directions, then blew up in small puff of smoke.

**T: 2000  
J: 3100**

"Now, thanks to my Amazoness Death Ring, it's time we had a rematch!" Tanya shouted as her's and Jaden's souls appeared in front of them again...at the cost of a few points.

**T: 1900  
J: 3000**

"Not again!" Alexis gasped.

"Watch out Jaden!" Syrus yelled.

"Stick with your jab!" Chumley shouted.

"C'mon Rocky! Eye of the Tiger!"

The three kids turned to Siho who had one eye closed and hunched over like an elderly man.

"Siho, enough with the movie references!" Alexis snapped at him.

While the students argued with their annoying pervert of a friend, Jaden's and Tanya's souls once again rushed at each other and exchanged blows, knocking one another away.

**T: 1800  
J: 2900**

"You know, I thought hitting like a girl was a bad thing," Jaden cracked as they returned to their bodies.

"Oh...it's a bad thing alright," Tanya grinned, "For you!"

Jaden chuckled, "Alright my move!" he drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in attack mode," he watched as his red-clad Heroine made her debut performance in the duel, "Now, Sparkman, attack Amazoness Swordswoman!"

"Not so fast, Jaden!" Tanya pressed a button on her disk, "I activate my facedown card, Amazoness Archers!"

Jaden gulped as five women with bows and arrows appeared on the field, "Oh boy,"

"If you don't remember what this does, this Trap card drains your monsters by 500 attack points...not too shabby for a girl, huh?".

E-Hero Burstinatrix (700/800)  
E-Hero Sparkman (1100/1400)

"Not too shabby, no, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna give up!" Jaden pointed to the Swordswoman, "Go, Sparkman!"

Everyone watched, surprised that Jaden still ordered his now weaker monster to actually fight Tanya's monster. Sparkman flew at the Swordswoman, but ended up getting sliced in half like a salami.

**T: 1800  
J: 2500**

Jaden winced at the attack, but kept his footing. He looked up at Tanya, "Now, let's have ourselves Round Three!" he cried as he sacrificed points and his soul appeared once again.

**T: 1700  
J: 2400**

"Hold on, now _Jaden's _using it's effect?" Alexis asked to no one in particular.

Her answer came in the form of the two duelists rushing one another and punching each other silly before retreating back into their bodies.

**T: 1600  
J: 2300**

"Not bad...you really duel with passion," Tanya panted as they both rubbed their sore faces after the attacks.

Banner raised an eyebrow, "What is she trying to prove?"

"I dunno, but I've never seen Jaden duel with so much zeal before in my life!" Alexis shook her head, astounded.

Bastion nodded, "Yes...he's enjoying himself in this duel while not being in love!"

"Alright...now I'll have my Amazoness Archers force all your monsters to attack!"

_Kinda dumb for all because there's only one...but hey_ Jaden thought as he watched his Burstinatrix, "You want it? Well you're gonna get it, Burstinatrix, go get them!"

Burstinatrix flew at the Swordswoman, wrapped in her torrent of red hot flames, but not even the sizzling Heroine could withstand the stronger power of the Swordswoman as she was sliced across the belly.

**T: 1600  
J: 1500**

Jaden winced again, "Well, _that_ cost me some points...but hey, it's worth it to rumble!"

"Not again," Syrus moaned as the two souls of the duelists engaged each other in Street Fighter-ish combat, "This is gettin' old,"

**T: 1400  
J: 1300**

"Next, I'll place down a couple of facedowns and then play a card I like to call The Warrior Returning Alive!" Jaden said quickly, shoving his cards into his disk slots, "This card allows me to bring back one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand," he explained before taking one card from his Graveyard, "I choose my Elemental Hero Clayman!"

"My turn!" Tanya drew her card, "And I'll summon Amazoness Tiger (1100/1500) in attack mode!" she paused as a tiger, much like Bass, appeared next to her Swordswoman, growling loudly, "This kitty gains 400 attack points for every monster on the field that has Amazoness in it's name," Tanya reminded him, "She just _loves_ company,"

Amazoness Tiger (1900/1500)

"I don't blame her, look how powerful she got!" Crowler gaped.

Alexis frowned, "How about we try and not sound quite so impressed, shall we?" she hissed.

"WOOT! TIGER!"

She sweatdropped, "Yet, I can't stop Chrissy...,"

"Now, Amazoness Swordswoman, attack Jaden directly!" Tanya ordered.

Her Swordswoman rushed at Jaden, who had a grin on his face.

"Hold on! I play A Hero Emerges!" Jaden declared as one of his facedowns revealed itself, "Here's how it works, you randomly pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monster card, I get to summon it to the field!"

"But there's only one card left!" Tanya pointed out.

Zane nodded, "Perfect. She has no choice but to choose the-,"

"Elemental Hero Clayman!" Jaden called out as his large, round Hero appeared in defense mode, just stopping the blade from reaching him. The sword made contact on the hard shell of Clayman and split into two.

Tanya smiled, "Sorry, but Amazoness Swordswoman's ability makes it so _you_ get all the battle damage," she watched as her Swordswoman's cut blade spun in the air, "So, you may wanna duck now,"

Jaden didn't even have enough time to blink as the broken blade dove through him, taking a chunk of Life Points away.

**T: 1400  
J: 800**

"Guess it's time to put up my dukes," Jaden groaned as the Death Ring activated again. Both souls appeared on the field again.

"Let's go!"

"Bring it!"

**T: 1300  
J: 700**

For the umpteenth time, their souls appeared and fiercely clashed with one another, slugging one another hard in the face.

**T: 1200  
J: 600**

"What's he doing?!" Chumley asked, desperate for an answer.

"If this keeps up, Jaden's gonna lose!" Syrus whimpered.

"Maybe not," Zane mused, "Maybe he's fallen under Tanya's spell, just like Bastion did,"

Bastion shook his head, "No, it's love! Pure love, just like the wind-driven snow! Right Tanya?!"

The Amazon rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever lover-boy," she glared at Jaden, "Let's get on with this! Amazoness Tiger, attack Clayman!" she ordered.

The very large tiger roared and pounced Clayman, it's claws and teeth scraping along Clayman's outer shell. Sadly, the attack failed and Tanya was hit with her own damage.

**T: 1100  
J: 600**

"What the-?" Chazz blinked in disbelief, "Why would Tanya attack a monster with more defense points?"

"Simple...," Alexis leaned forward, "So she can use the Death Ring's effect for herself again,"

Indeed, that is what Tanya wanted, because the two souls flew into the air and punched hard, sort of like some kind of arch-enemies in some older anime series. After the blows, both duelists landed back in their bodies, a little weakened from the attacks.

**T: 900  
J: 400**

"He's still in there...," Chazz said with a nod.

"For now," Zane murmured.

"Now, I'll activate the Spell card called Amazoness Tamer **(3)**!" Tanya inserted her card into her disk, and her Tiger's power went up by 400 points.

Amazoness Tiger (2300/1500)

"Since she played that Amazoness Tiger card, if her Tiger didn't destroy a monster before, it can try again, this time with a power boost," Zane explained to the questioning looks of his comrades.

Jaden glared at Tanya, "What's the hold up?!" he demanded.

"Oh, you know honey, just enjoying the moment," Tanya shrugged slightly, "After all, this will be our anniversary. Amazoness Tiger, attack once more!" she barked.

"NOT SO FAST!" Jaden yelled, pressing a button on his disk, "I play Clay Charge! Whenever you attack Clayman when I play this card, not only do both monsters that do battle bite the dust, but you take 800 points of damage!"

Tanya looked away as both her Tiger and Clayman exploded into millions of pieces, then winced as her points were taken away.

**T: 100  
J: 400**

She grinned at Jaden, "Playing hard to get, huh?" she panted, "I like that,"

"Hey, I'm just liking this all-out duel!" Jaden shot back.

Syrus looked at the two opponents, "Ya know...I gotta admit, I'm liking this duel too. It's non-stop action!"

"I think that's exactly what Jaden's going for, Syrus," Zane mused, "To beat her at her own game,"

"I guess," Chazz muttered, "Unless he's trying to _impress_ her. Maybe this Tanya girl is Jaden's type,"

"Why don't you just shut it, Chazz?" Alexis snapped, "There's no way Jaden would date that _thing_, and in case you've forgotten, this is more than just love. If Jaden doesn't get a miracle draw, Tanya's gonna get another Spirit Gate Key! Not to mention Bastion's gonna spend the rest of his life in some lame love limbo! There's a _lot_ riding on Jaden's shoulders this move,"

"You've fought well, Jaden," Tanya praised, "But my Swordswoman will beat you. Remember her ability to make you suffer the damage you deal to her. Face it, you can't win,"

Jaden drew his card, "With one card I can...and I _just_ drew it! Go, Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in attack mode!"

Everyone watched as his tattooed Hero with a giant blade came to the field, staring down the Swordswoman.

"I see, they have the same points," Chazz looked at both monsters, "That effect won't work!"

"So they'll destroy each other!" Chumley realized.

"You go get her, Jaden!"

Siho nodded, "C'mon, Jaden! Knock that chick outta the park!"

Khamille grinned, "Had me worried there for a minute,"

"Wildheart, attack Amazoness Swordswoman!" Jaden commanded.

With a battle cry, his wild Hero rushed Swordswoman and their swords clashed against one another with a mighty _clang_. Both monsters destroyed each other, leaving both fields empty.

"Let's go!"

"With pleasure!"

Alexis nodded slowly as the two souls appeared, "This is it! She only has 100 Life Points left!"

"And I'm back down to earth," Bastion chirped, startling some of the others nearby, "I can duel passionately, without being in love! Now, go get her Jaden and win this match for us both!"

"And for all mankind!" Siho added, "Put her in her place!"

_God, I'm gonna kill him_ Khamille and Alexis thought together, glaring at him.

For the final time, both Tanya's and Jaden's souls ran at each other, and punched one another in the face hard. The two souls stood there together, their fists stuck on each other's cheeks as the sunrise peeked over the colosseum.

The souls vanished and the real bodies of duelists stumbled backward, feeling the effects of the blows.

"It's over...," Banner sighed in relief.

"Never," Crowler slowly shook his head, "Have I seen two duelists fight with such passion,"

Zane looked at the Ra, "So, Bastion, are you with us, or are you still in love?"

"I'm still in love...," Bastion slowly smiled, "...with dueling! I see now, where the passion lies once again.

Jaden looked at his opponent, smiling, "I guess that's game. Lemme know whenever you wanna rematch,"

Tanya sat down and shook her head, "No rematch. I joined the Shadow Riders to find a husband...a duelist who was worthy of being my husband. But I've discovered that _I _am not worthy of being with someone as strong as you..,"

**T: 0  
J: 200**

Jaden raised an eyebrow at her as the Death Ring disappeared, "Tanya?"

What happened next, may have freaked a few of them out. Tanya began to glow with a purple light and soon, she fell onto all fours, her hair growing longer and white fur with black stripes grew out of her flesh. Soon, in her place, was a giant white tiger with two scars over it's right eye.

"A tiger?!" Syrus stared in shock.

Siho's jaw dropped, "Holy sh-,"

"DUDE THAT'S AWESOME!" Khamille squealed.

Bastion rubbed his eyes, "Tanya? Is that really you?".

The white tiger seemed to look straight at him, _Farewell Bastion..._

Tanya turned around and headed towards the exit, leaving behind her black gauntlet. Christina met the Amazon/Tiger and knelt down in front of her.

"Thank you...," she whispered as she slowly pet the tiger's fur, "I'll do what I can...," she promised. Tanya nodded and left the arena, Bass close behind her.

"Well," Christina clapped her hands together and turned around, "All's well that ends...well?" she noticed a good number of her friends were scowling at her, "Hey, don't look at me like that. I got free lessons in Amazoness dueling, some new cards, and this awesome warrior lady getup!" she spun around to show it off, "Tough, yet good-looking!"

Siho walked over to her, an evil glint in his eye, "Chrissy, no matter what you got outta it, you betrayed the good guys for a short time. For that, traitor's must be punished,"

"As well as sexist duelist!"

Siho barely had anytime to register what that meant before Khamille tackled him and pulled his arm behind his back.

"OW! OW! EASE OFF! EASE OFF!"

"Don't let go, Khamille," Alexis said quietly as she walked up to Chrissy, "So...what to do with _you_,"

"Oh c'mon!" Christina backed away slowly, "She was beaten anyway, there's no harm in it! Besides...," she turned and bolted for the exit, "YA GOTTA CATCH ME FIRST!" she screamed.

"WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!" Siho, Alexis and Khamille shouted after her.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Hm...that was more interesting for me than I thought. hehehe. Ok, few things.**

**(1) Death Ring is also known as Amazoness Arena, but this sounded much cooler.**

**(2) Also known as Amazoness Charm...again, much cooler name.**

**(3) AGAIN, also known as Amazoness Trainer...eh, not much different, but hey, why not?**

**Also, in the show, Amazoness Archers takes away 600 points instead of 500. I fixed it, and while it did leave Jaden with 200 Life Points instead of 100...I say it'd work out either way, just that this bugged me. That and I already fixed the effect of that Trap from the last chapter, LOL! Ja ne, guys.**


	56. Pirates of Duel Academy

**Pirates of Duel Academy**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Another day at Slifer Red dorm. Things had calmed down after Tanya was beaten and Bastion had come to his senses. Both Christina and Siho had to be wary for their respective punishments...but they weren't the only ones that had people mad at them. Jaden has his own problem...

"YOU DID _WHAT_?! WHERE AM _I_ GONNA SLEEP?!"

Khamille, Siho, Chrissy and Kairi turned to see Syrus standing in front of Jaden, looking very upset while his roommate looked rather calm as he ate his meal.

"I'm sorry, Sy," the brunette slifer apologized, "I...I guess with all the excitement, I really hadn't thought about that,".

"_EXCITEMENT?!_" Syrus screamed at him, "You traded my bed for a _card_!"

"But I got it for _you_!" Jaden argued, "Isn't your birthday next week?"

"It was last Tuesday, and I'm surprised I made with everything you put me through this year!" Syrus growled, "I might just need a new roommate,"

Siho cleared his throat, and left with his tray of food, "Don't even think about it...,"

"Don't say that! I'm really sorry, Syrus!" Jaden smiled and put his hands together as a sign of hopeful forgiveness, "I _promise_ to be a better roommate from now on!"

"What's this? Trouble in paradise?"

Syrus turned and glared at Chazz, who seemed to be enjoying the bickering of the roommates over his food.

"Butt out, this is private!"

"C'mon, it's just Chazz. We share everything...," Jaden's eyes wandered to the untouched ice cream Chazz had nearby, "Like dessert...,"

Chazz grabbed his treat and held it behind him, "Yeah right, Slifer Slacker! Keep dreamin'!"

"Ok...," Jaden glanced at his tray, "Then can I have your corndogs? Oh, and your mashed potatoes?"

"How about asking for a new bed?!" Syrus hissed loudly.

Before anyone else could say anything about the situation, the door to the mess hall opened up again and Chumley popped his head in, a confused yet worried look on his face.

"Uh...guys, did anyone order a sub?" he asked, looking at the gang, "Because there's one parked right outside...,"

-----

"Avast, ye landlubbers! I be the Admiral!"

A loud, high-pitched sound echoed around the docks of Duel Academy as a large, fat man dressed in sailor's garb and captain's hat stood ontop of a huge submarine that sat peacefully in the waters. Everyone clutched their heads at the noise, hoping their eardrums didn't burst suddenly.

Jaden winced as he held his head, "Who is he, a pirate or something?!" he yelled over the noise.

"Ye scalawags ne'er laid yer ears on tales of the Admiral?" the large man yelled into his microphone, "Scourge of the Seven Seas?!"

"Uh...yeah," Alexis rolled her eyes, "I'm thinkin' he's a pirate,"

"I'm here to challenge one of ye to a duel-!"

Everyone cried out again as the high-pitched tone ripped through the air.

"-the bilge rat known as Jaden Yuki!"

Bastion and Alexis looked up at the man in surprise, "Is he-?"

"A Shadow Rider!" Jaden growled, glaring at the fat pirate.

"Show yerself, Jaden!" the Admiral barked, "Where ye be?"

"Ye be here!" Jaden stepped forward, "And aren't you a little old to be playin' dress-up?"

The Admiral glared at him, "Why, I'll keelhaul ya poopdeck!" he shouted, "Now at arms, ya scurvy dog, it time we be dueling!" he pointed to Jaden, grinning, "Get yarr game on!!"

"Now?"

"No, next week," Bastion muttered sarcastically.

"_This_ should be good," Chazz cracked.

"Let's go! Get aboard!" the Admiral cried, "If not, I be tyin' yer mates to the port for Davy Jones!"

Jaden grit his teeth and started to walk to a small boat that lay in the water nearby.

"Jaden, wait!" Alexis called after him, "If this _is_ a Shadow Rider, there's no way we'll let you go all alone! I'm coming with you!"

Jaden stopped in his tracks, "I dunno...Syrus had a point," he turned and looked at them, "In all my duels recently, my friends all end up in danger,"

Alexis smiled slightly, "Jaden, we're in this together,"

"Right!" Bastion walked up beside her, "I'm with you too!"

Chazz grinned, "I just wish I had a parrot...or at least an eyepatch,"

"Hey, don't leave without us, mateys!"

The four looked behind them and nearly fell over at what they saw.

Siho wore his Slifer Red blazer, only it's sleeves were cut off, sandals, jean shorts, and a straw hat on his head.

Chrissy wore a dark green bandanna over her hair (which she had somehow managed to dye a bright green in a short amount of time),wore long, black pants, and a large wide, green belt across her belly over a somewhat tight white shirt. At her hips, she wore three plastic swords.

To top it off, Khamille wore a rather short dress that seem to cut off around the middle of her thighs. She wore black boots and her dressed seemed to accent her chest area, something that Siho kept grinning at.

Chazz raised an eyebrow, "What...the...HELL...are you three doing?"

"Guy's a pirate,"

"We like pirates,"

"So we cosplaying as the Straw Hats from One Piece,"

Bastion blinked, "I've never heard of them. What century are they from? What's their nationality?"

Alexis shook her head, "It's just an anime, Bastion,"

"I'll scuttle the likes of ye, if ye don't come aboard!"

Jaden winced at the high tone again, then turned to his roommate, "Syrus? Are _you_ gonna come?"

Chumley looked at the small Slifer, "How about it, Sy?"

Syrus sighed and looked away, giving the only answer that Jaden needed.

With that, Jaden, his fellow Key-Keepers, and the strange, cosplaying Slifers boarded the small boat and sped towards the large submarine, where a large crane apparatus took hold of the boat and lifted them out of the water.

Bastion looked at the device as they touched the roof of the sub, only to descend through another entrance while the Admiral slowly sank into his own entrance.

"Seems too high-tech for a pirate," he mused, "I think the Admiral is less buccaneer and more _financier_,"

The gang entered a large control room that was filled with TV monitors that showed a large duel arena, that was apparently on board.

_How else can he afford a submarine, or a submerged Duel Arena?_ Bastion glanced at the Admiral.

"Check it out," Jaden looked at the room, wide-eyed, "Talk about 'shiver me timbers'...,"

"Boo," Christina bopped Jaden with a plastic sword, "Bad joke!"

"Ah, tis be a fine ship," the Admiral said proudly, turning to the group, "Now let's weigh anchor and duel ya filthy bilge rat!"

-----

Jaden and the Admiral stood in the sub's duel arena, duel disks at the ready. This was the strangest place he had ever seen a duel arena so far. A platform for walking and duelists went around the side of the room, but below them, they both could see the ocean's depths as clear as day.

"Wish yer mates farewell, ye ain't be seein' them again!" the Admiral laughed as he inserted his deck into a beautiful, custom duel disk. The disk had dozens of incredible looking gems and gold lacings around the edges. Needless to say, it looked like a treasure from the old world.

"Well, what are you waitin' for, Admiral?" Jaden asked as he inserted his deck, "We gonna duel or walk the plank?"

-----

"Walk the plank on a submarine?" Chazz rolled his eyes, "How about we open up a window too?"

"How about he concentrates?" Bastion snapped lightly, "That Admiral is raring to go,"

Chrissy nodded, "Hey, guys...you wanna bet on-," she turned to Khamille and Siho, but stopped in midsentence as she saw longing expressions on their drooling faces.

"What the hell is up with you two?" she asked, waving a hand in front of them.

"Shiny...duel disk...," Khamille whispered.

"Must have...jewels," Siho nodded slowly.

Christina grinned, "Siho, if you didn't have any _jewels_ now," she glanced at his pants and snickered, "Then you been keeping back a secret like Khamille here," she cracked.

That snapped the two staring Slifers back to normal. Khamille started laughing and fell over, holding her sides at the joke while Siho crossed his arms and glared at his friend.

-----

"DUEL!"

**A: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Argh this!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in defense mode!"

Jaden's tattooed wild-warrior appeared on the field, bulging arms folded across it's chest.

At that moment, everything in the room went very dark.

Jaden growled, "I shoulda guessed you'd turn off all the lights...it _is _a Shadow Game!"

"A Shadow Game?" the Admiral blinked, looking confused.

"What's it for?" Jaden barked, "My soul? My Key?"

"What ye be speaking, ya yella-livered-linny swabby?!"

"You know what I mean! What's your Shadow sham gonna be?!" Jaden demanded, "Are you gonna turn me into a doll? Or maybe suck me into some magic card?"

The Admiral scratched his head, looking very lost, "What ye be squawkin'?" he asked.

"The Shadow Game, remember?!"

"Tis no Shadow Game!"

"But what about my Key?"

"Key? What key?"

"The Key that-," Jaden stopped and the two duelists stared at each other for a few moments, "Wait a sec. You _are_ trying to unlock the Spirit Gates, right? Aren't you?"

"Why you scurvy swine!" the Admiral glared daggers at him, "I be no Shadow Rider, and I'll prove it!"

What happened next, tossed most everyone else on the ship off their feet and onto the floor. The submarine rose from the murky depths of the ocean and broke surface, and now it sat peacefully on the water's surface.

-----

Chazz groaned, "I think...I'm gonna be sick,"

"Not me," Siho grinned, "I'm good,"

He stared at Alexis and Khamille, who had fallen ontop of one another, giving him a good view and some very pleasing thoughts.

_WHAP_

Siho fell over as Christina pulled her fist back, "Baka pervert,"

Khamille moved out from under Alexis, "Sorry about that...,"

"It's ok," Alexis waved her off and held her head, "Looks like the Admiral wasn't lying. This guy really knows his sailing...so I guess he's not really a Shadow Rider,"

Bastion frowned and pointed to the monitors, showing the darkened arena, "Hold on. If he's not a Shadow Rider, how did he manage to shroud the entire arena in darkness?" he demanded, "Could one of you care to explain that?"

At that moment, a sailor hopped onto the control deck and pressed the intercom button as the light in the arena turned back on, "Sir, we fixed the electrical problems in the duel arena, it should be ok now," he reported.

Jaden's friends all fell over at the news/revelation.

-----

"See, me mate? I be no Shadow Rider, I be an Ocean Rider!"

Jaden grinned sheepishly, "Hey, whatever you say, Cappy,"

"I be an Admiral! Now, let's duel!" the fat sailor drew his card.

"Sure!" Jaden called back, "If that's an order, Admiral!" he cracked.

"Ye very well know it was!" the Admiral shouted as his end tray opened up, "Now, prepare to taste the briney deep with this: A Legend-arry Ocean!" his disk glowed a blue aura after placing a card into the end tray.

The area surrounding them turned into a beautiful, underwater realm fill with large stone ruins. Jaden panicked and held his mouth, "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!".

_"Jaden, you **do** realize that you're not really drowning?"_ Bastion's voice came over the loud speaker, _"It's **just** a hologram?"_

Jaden stopped and realized that Bastion was completely right. He regained his composure quickly, "Oh yeah...," he rubbed the back of his head, embarassed, "Maybe next time, they'll throw in some holographic lobsters for lunch!"

"Will ye think it be a grand laugh...when me sea monsters rip ye from limb to limb?" the Admiral chuckled as he took a card from his hand.

-----

"Of course!" Bastion leaned forward, "The Legendary Ocean card! It reduces the summoning level of all Water-Attribute monsters!"

-----

"Your mate be right, boy," the Admiral nodded, "That means I can play Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness (2100/1200) _without_ a sacrifice, and I be doin' just that!" he declared, slapping the card onto his disk.

Jaden watched as a huge killer whale with mechanical features on it's back and a large cannon in it's mouth appeared, wailing. **(Author's note: No pun intended)**

"Also, in case ye be forgetting, me sea monsters also get an extra bounty of 200 points in both attack and defense!"

Orca Mega-Fortress (2300/1400)

"Now, Orca Mega Fortress, scuttle that Wildheart!" he pointed to the Hero, "That means 'attack', you swab!"

Orca Mega Fortress took a deep breath, then shot a huge fireball from the cannon in it's mouth at Wildheart, blowing the Hero out of the water.

"I be expectin' more of ye, Jaden...,"

Jaden looked through the aftermath of the blast, "Huh?"

"It be true. I know who ye be! Yer deck, yer victories...," the Admiral took a card from his hand, "Oh yes, I've studied ye like a map. A map with a handsome treasure, which is why I came to find ye!" he slipped the card into his disk, "Oh, and I place one card facedown...,"

"_Me_? Why?" Jaden asked as he drew his card, "While you think about that, I'll summon the Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in defense mode, and throwdown a facedown," he glared at the Admiral, "So, what's so important about me? Hm, why'd you go through all this trouble?"

The fat sailor smiled, "Well lad, listen. The Admiral be building a new duel academy at the bottom of the briney deep! Well, waddya think?"

"Uh...huh?"

"But, me still needs a first mate. A mate that'd be grand. A mate like...," he pointed at Jaden, "ye! And you'll help me run it, ye swab!"

"Me?" Jaden pointed to himself.

-----

"Not Jaden!" Alexis protested, "He can't leave us!"

"Why not?" Bastion mused, "It _is_ an amazing opportunity...,"

Chazz turned and glanced at the monitors, "Personally...I think it's good. Maybe now I'll get a new room,"

Siho and Christina glanced at one another.

-----

"Jaden, ye be the finest duelist in the Seven Seas! I want ye to teach with me! Ye'd be great!"

Jaden grinned and scratched his head, "It's true...I mean, I have taught Chazz a few things,"

"Then yer in!" the Admiral declared, "Welcome aboard!"

Jaden stared at him in shock, "I was...only joking...,"

"Were ye?" the Admiral raised an eyebrow, "Then what say ye to a friendly wager, between mates?"

-----

"Don't do it, Jaden...," Alexis murmured.

"It's a trap!" Bastion cried.

"Good riddance," Chazz scoffed.

"He won't do it," both Christina and Siho said in unison.

-----

"Forget it!"

-----

"Told ya," both Slifers held out their hands, "Pay up,"

_WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP_

_WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP_

-----

"I ain't be askin' ye, I be tellin' ye! The duel has begun, and the wage has been set," the Admiral shrugged, "If ye win, I be lettin' ye and ye mates go free. But if not, ye leave Duel Academy and join me!"

Everyone in the control room stared at the monitors as Jaden stared the Admiral down. Not one of them, not even Chazz (though he'd want to admit it), wanted to lose Jaden.

"It be my turn now," the Admiral drew his card, "And, I play me facedown card...a Trap card known as Cursed Waters Level 3!"

Jaden looked at the card, "Wicked name...but what's it _do_?"

"It be lettin' me summon monsters from the deep, whose Level totals 3!" the fat sailor took two cards from his hand and placed them on his disk, "I be summonin' Torpedo Fish (1000/1000) and Cannonball Spear Shellfish (1000/1000)!"

Jaden watched as not only two new monsters came on the field, but their stats went up thanks to the Admiral's Field Spell card.

Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness (2300/1400)  
Torpedo Fish (1200/1200)  
Cannonball Spear Shellfish (1200/1200)

-----

"Brillant!" Bastion nodded, "Normally, those two monsters combined levels would equal 5, but with A Legendary Ocean card in play, their normal levels are downgraded by 1, so they're combined Levels are now 3...clever,"

"You ever shut up during a duel, nerd?" Siho muttered under his breath.

-----

"And now, I be activatin' the special ability of the fierce Orca-Mega Fortress! By sending one of my beasts to Davy Jones, I can scuttle your facedown!"

Jaden watched as the Cannonball Spear Shellfish appeared above the Orca and shot through the holo-water like a bullet, crashing into his facedown Mirror Gate card, destroying it easily.

"Now, I be bidding adieu to me Torpedo Fish to make your green feathered fellow walk the mutinous plank!"

Much like the Spear Shellfish, Torpedo Fish swam fast and hard into Avian, blowing him to pieces, leaving Jaden wide open.

The Admiral laughed, "Now, me Orca has a clear shot...FIRE!"

The huge killer whale fired off another huge blast of fiery energy that struck Jaden directly in the chest, knocking him off his feet and flipping him over.

**A: 4000  
J: 1700**

Jaden rubbed his jaw and climbed to his feet, "Not bad...haven't gotten that wet since my trip to SeaLand,"

"Tis no theme park!"

"Well, it could be...it just needs some rides," Jaden offered as he drew his card, "Maybe, something like _this_! Watch as with the help of Polymerization, my Elemental Heroes Clayman (800/2000) and Sparkman (1600/1400) combine to create the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!"

The Admiral raised an eyebrow at the new, large Hero, clearly unimpresed, "Is that the best ye can do? Even if that yella-belled gizzard keelhauled me Orca, me only take 100 points of damage!"

Jaden grinned, shaking his finger, "You missed the boat, Admiral. Lemme fill ya in. When my Thunder Giant is summoned, he can automatically destroy a monster that has less attack points than he has!"

"How that be?!"

"I read the card. Now, Thunder Giant, Static Blast!"

Thunder Giant shot a stream of pure electrical energy at the Orca, hitting it dead on in the face. The giant whale moaned before blowing apart, knocking the Admiral off his feet.

-----

"Well, that's why they're endangered," Bastion shrugged.

"Because of _that_?" Christina pointed to Thunder Giant, "You serious?"

Siho rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Chrissy...just hush,"

-----

"And now Thunder Giant attacks you directly!" Jaden pointed to the Admiral, "Voltic Thunder!"

The Admiral climbed to his feet, only to be hit with a huge amount of electricity. He twitched around, feeling the power in his body, "Shiver me timbers!" he cried before falling over on his side, smoking a little.

**A: 1600  
J: 1700**

"And, I'll throw down a coupla facedowns," Jaden said as he inserted two cards into his disk, "It's your move,"

The Admiral looked at Jaden, smiling slightly, "Perchance a deal, me boy?" he flipped over (amazingly) onto his feet, "We maroon this duel here and now, and you come work for me for a thousand doubloons!"

-----

"How much?" Chazz blinked, amazed.

"Amazing! That's over a million dollars!" Bastion added.

"That _is_ a lot of booty...," Alexis thought aloud.

"I beg your pardon?" Bastion asked as Siho glanced at Alexis' own booty, grinning.

_WHAP WHAP_

"Pervert," Khamille and Christina hissed as they hit Siho over the head, noticing what he was staring at.

-----

"Ahoy, waddya say, Jaden?" the Admiral rubbed his hands together, "Do ye wanna be rich?"

"Nope,"

-----

Again, everyone in the control room fell over at the answer.

Siho picked himself up, "Baka! That's a whole lotta money!" he snapped, "C'mon!"

-----

"Don't ya get it? I don't care about the money," Jaden explained.

The Admiral raised an eyebrow, "Oh, no? Then what have ye, back at Duel Academy, ye swab? Yer mate, Syrus, doesn't want ye,"

-----

Chazz whistled, "Man...the Admiral did his homework,"

"Syrus?" Alexis turned to him, "What happened?"

Bastion looked at her, "From what I gather, they...had a bit of a falling out, which is why Syrus isn't with us," he explained.

"All because of a bed for a card," Christina shook her head, "Never would _I_ do such a thing,"

"No...but you traded my decorative dagger collection for a card you coulda gotten in _any_ booster...," Siho muttered angrily, glaring at his best friend.

Christina stuck out her tongue and scratched her head, "Oh right...I forgot about that...,"

-----

"Mull it over whilst we duel, but remember, ye'd be mine either way!" the Admiral drew his card, "Now, me play this, A Shallow Grave! Here's how this card works: we search our Graveyards and find a beast we want, then we summon it in defense mode," the Admiral reached down and plucked a card that popped out, "I think I be choosin' the terror of the Seven Seas, the Orca-Mega Fortress of Darkness!"

Once again, this time in defense mode, the huge killer whale appeared on the field, again boosted thanks to the Legendary Ocean card.

Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness (2300/1400) DEF

"And I'll bring back Clayman!" Jaden declared as his large, round Hero appeared on the field, arms crossed.

"But, before yer Thunder Giant makes quick work of me Orca, I be tellin' ye he's only a sacrifice!" the Admiral smiled, "So hold onto yer britches, for there be another monster...,"

"Uh oh,"

"...and he be called Levia-Dragon - Daedalus (2600/1500)!"

A huge sea serpent with blue scales, red spikes on it's body, and a gaping jaw of spiked teeth emerged from the watery depths with an almighty roar as the Field card gave it more strength.

Levia-Dragon - Daedalus (2800/1700)

Jaden looked up at the beast, "Wow...nice fish. Does he bite?" he cracked.

"Ye best be wary of his special ability," the Admiral warned as he took out the Field card from his tray and sent it to the Graveyard slot, "By sending me Legendary Ocean to the Graveyard, the whole lot of cards in this field of war, meets a dastardly end!"

Levia-Dragon - Daedalus (2600/1500)

"Before it's too late, I'll play my Emergency Provisions!" Jaden declared as a facedown was revealed, "I'll just kick a Spell or Trap card from the field to the Graveyard, and I get a big one-triple zero!"

**A: 1600  
J: 2700**

"That doesn't matter, for yer cards are goin' the way of Davy Jones!" the Admiral cried as his Levia-Dragon blasted the entire field, completely obliterating Jaden's defense, leaving him completely exposed, "Ramparts be down! Fire all forward battery!" he ordered, pointing to Jaden, "...in other words, ATTACK!"

Again, the Levia-Dragon roared and fired another beam of blue energy at Jaden, taking a _huge_ chunk of Life Points out of him.

**A: 1600  
J: 100**

"There he goes!" the Admiral laughed as Jaden fell to his knees, "He be mine, now! Ya'rr finished, tis nothing ye can do to stop me monster!"

Jaden rose to his feet, glancing at the beast, "Well...we'll just see about that. I still got one draw left...mate," he muttered as he drew his card, "And I Special Summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

The Admiral stared at the caped Hero, "What be so 'special' about him?"

"I'll tell ya," Jaden smiled, "Bubbleman _hates_ being alone, so when he's the last card in my hand, I get to Special Summon him. Also, if he's the only card on the field when he makes his appearance, I get to draw two new cards from my deck,"

"Blast!"

"Oh, and Admiral? I'm not done yet," Jaden drew his two new cards, "I now activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards!" he paused and drew another two cards from his deck, "Then I'll play this, The Warrior Returning Alive! This let's me bring back a Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand,"

The Admiral stared, wide-eyed, "I'll be hornswaggled!" he cried out.

"C'mon back, Sparkman!" Jaden took the card from his Grave and slapped it onto the field, letting the electric Hero appear once more, "There's more. I play the Spell card Metamorphosis! All I gotta do is sacrifice one of my monsters and I get to summon a Fusion monster of the same level! So say hello to the Elemental Hero Neo Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Bubbleman disappeared and in his place, a new monster with a very similar body, except larger wings on it's shoulders and a spikier/finned helmet appeared.

"Then I'll play this, the Equip Spell known as Bubble Blaster! For a sweet 800 extra attack points!"

E-Hero Neo Bubbleman (1600/1200)

Jaden pointed to Levia-Dragon, "Neo, turn that fish into a sushi special!" he ordered, "Bubble Slamming Stream!"

Neo Bubbleman fired off a powerful blast of high-pressured water at the Levia-Dragon, which...at the end of the blast, seemed to have _no_ effect on it, whatsoever.

The Admiral laughed heartily at the failed attack, "Are ye daft, boy? Me sea monster has more attack points than yer Bubble-boy! Try again, ye swab!"

Jaden shrugged slightly, "Well...ok, if you _really _insist,"

The Admiral stopped laughing at his words, "...what?"

"Oh yeah, check it, Admiral. By sacrificing my Bubble Blaster, I turn all your damage to me, to zero, and Neo Bubbleman has a surprise of his own. See, after damage is dealt, your dragon? He goes boom!"

"WHAT?!"

"Sweet effect, doncha think?" Jaden asked as the Levia-Dragon was engulfed with a bright light.

The Admiral screamed as his beloved sea monster was blown to pieces.

"And, Admiral? You haven't forgotten about my Sparkman, have ya?" Jaden asked, pointing to his returned Hero, "Sparkman, shiver his timbers! Static Shockwave!"

Sparkman fired a bolt of electricity that struck the Admiral dead on, and sent him flying all the way across to Jaden's side of the field.

"That's game...,"

**A: 0  
J: 100**

_Argh...I might've been bested in this duel, but tharr be another way to catch this wily fish, Jaden!_ the Admiral thought with a smirk as he regained his composure.

-----

"Whoa, what do ya mean 'left'?"

"They took the first and only dinghy home," the Admiral explained as he and Jaden entered the control room after their duel.

"You mean...I'm stuck?"

"Fear it be true, lad," the Admiral pointed to the TV monitors to show his friends leaving on the speedboat, "See?"

Jaden gulped as his friends revved off screen, "Well...what now...uh, Admiral?"

The fat man smiled as his sub descended, "Now ye begin yer new life under the sea, Jaden!"

-One Week Later-

Syrus sat alone on the docks, under the lighthouse. He had been sitting there for a long time, pining for his best friend to return.

He sighed, "Jaden...,"

Chumley and Alexis were standing a short distance behind him. The larger Slifer turned to Alexis, "He's still waiting," he whispered, "It's been a whole week since Jaden left...,"

Alexis frowned and walked over to the smaller Slifer, "Syrus...?"

Syrus lifted his head, eyes scanning the watery horizon, "What's that? It sounds like a boat that's coming this way!"

He looked around, but no boat came into view.

"No...," he sniffed, tears rolling down his cheeks, "I guess...Jay's made better friends. Found himself a new crew,"

"Sy," Alexis knelt down beside him, "I know it's tough. I had a hard time myself, but the Admiral said that Jaden wanted to stay. I guess he made up his mind-,"

"Wait!" Syrus interrupted her, looking off to the side, "Hear that?"

A dull buzzing sound reached their ears and a familiar voice called out to them.

"SYRUS! ALEXIS!"

"Jaden?!" Syrus climbed to his feet as Jaden came into view, his motorboat's engine smoking like crazy, as if it was on fire. Chances were, it _was_ on fire. The boat stopped abruptly and flames began to lick the back of the boat.

"Hang on, Jay! I'm coming!" Syrus screamed before diving into the water. The little guy swam as hard as he could to the boat as Jaden used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames, covering them in a cold foam.

Alexis stared at him, "Can he...?"

"Swim?" Chumley shrugged, "I didn't think so,"

"Jaden!" Syrus paddled out to him, "I'm sorry! I want you to be my shipmate!"

Jaden smiled and leaned out of the boat, "Really? That's good to know. Because, that weird Admiral guy?" he shrugged, "Couldn't understand a word he said!"

Syrus smiled, "So...we're cool?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Jaden raised an eyebrow, "But Sy...when did you learn how to swim?" he asked.

Syrus looked away, then looked at where he was and began to panic, "I DIDN'T!" he screamed, flailing his arms around in the air.

Chumley and Alexis could only smile as Jaden fell into the water and the two friends were back together.

_I wonder how Chrissy and Siho are doing with **their **problems? _Alexis thought with a slight smirk.

-----

"AHHHHHH! NO! DOWN KITTY!" Chrissy's screams echoed from Siho's closet as an angry mewling joined, the door shaking violently, "NO! BAD PHARAOH, NO CLAWS IN THE FACE!"

Siho wasn't in a good place either. He was sitting on top of his desk, white as a sheet as he stared down a herd of goats that somehow made their way into the dorm room. They picked through anything and everything, looking for something to snack on. Poor Siho hugged his knees, "Never leave the desk...never leave the desk...never leave the desk.

Outside, Khamille stood grinning, enjoying her handiwork. She and Alexis had wracked their brains together, trying to think of an appropriate punishment for the two Slifers that made them angry during Tanya's duels with their friends. For Siho, a group of the animal he feared most. For Chrissy...to be lightly covered with catnip and let Pharaoh have a go while locked in the closet.

"Khamille! HELP ME!" Siho screamed at his friend.

She waved him off and started to walk away, "It's not bad, Siho...they're friendly!"

"A LITTLE TOO FRIENDLY! I THINK THEY'RE HORNY!"

Khamille laughed loudly and walked down the stairs, looking forward to well deserved treat in the mess hall.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: whew...long one. Ok, that chap is down, hope ya'll like, and I do hope the punishments for the two Slifers were entertaining...they were fun to write, LOL!**

**Ja ne!**


	57. Dark Scorpions Unite!

**Dark Scorpions Unite!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Somewhere in a dark cave on Duel Academy Island, a group of people sat around a dimly lit candle, enjoying the low lighting as they waited for the right time.

"We've been waiting for this day a _long_ time," one, a male with a large hammer said aloud, "Now it's here...,"

"I know, it's hard to believe the Boss is actually comin'," a large male said as he polished a giant, spiked mace.

The one woman of the group held up her thorny whip, "Of course he's coming. Finally, all the places are in place,"

"They will be once we enact the plan anyway," the final member, a man with large daggers chuckled, his blades glistening in the candlelight.

The four people rose from the seats and brought their respective weapons together, "There's no stopping the Dark Scorpions now!" they said in unison.

-----

Early one morning, a ferry boat sped towards the Academy, the only people on it was it's captain and a man in a brown trenchcoat.

The captain looked out his window, "Land ho, detective!" he called out to the man on the deck, "That's Academy Island up ahead!"

Looking out at the island, the detective in the heavy coat squinted a bit.

"Time to get to work,"

-----

Alexis stood in the hallway, watching her brother and her cousin stand at a window, looking out at the scenery. Lately, Jordan had been clinging to Atticus like a parasite, hoping to be there whenever Atticus finally snaps out of it.

"Hey, Alexis, what's up?"

The blonde turned to see Chazz, Siho, Jaden, Banner, and a man in a trenchcoat and a hat walk up to her. The man had light silvery blue hair and his right eye was obscured by his Sherlock Holmes style hat.

"How's your brother Atticus?" Jaden asked, glancing at the two Rhodes boys.

She shrugged and turned back to her relatives, "So-so...I mean, he's out of that hospital bed now. but he still can't remember much about what happened,"

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come around soon, Alexis," the brunette Slifer offered.

"Thanks. Anyway," she looked at the others, "What brings you all here, anyway?"

"The law, actually," Banner waved his hand to the man in the dark trenchcoat.

The man lifted his hat, showing off a head of light blue hair, and a golden eyepatch on his right eye, "Good afternoon ma'am," he greeted, "I'm Detective Zaloog,"

Alexis blinked a few times, as if she were missing something, "Okay...,"

"You see Alexis, since three of the seven Spirit Keys have already been taken by the Shadow Riders, and the fate of the world rests on protecting the other four, the Academy thought it'd be best to call in the police," Banner explained as Detective Zaloog put his hat back on.

Jaden and Chazz turned to their fellow Key-Keeper.

"By the way, where _is_ your key, Lex?" Jaden asked her.

Alexis' face turned a little red and pulled away the top button of her uniform's collar. Chazz turned red, knowing what she was about to do, and turned around. He glanced and noticed that Jaden wasn't moving, so he grabbed the Slifer's face and pulled it around, away from Alexis as she unbuttoned her shirt.

"What's goin' on, Chazz?"

"Shut up, Slacker...just don't look!"

"Wow, Alexis you have a _nice_ rack!"

_SLAP!_

_WHAP!_

Siho fell over, holding his gut as a large red mark occupied the right side of his face. Alexis pulled out her key while Jordan lowered his fist and returned to the side of his older cousin. Siho heaved, "It...was...worth...it...,"

"Anyway," Alexis held up her key as the other two boys turned back around, "It's right here, around my neck,"

"Same here," Chazz tapped his key.

Jaden held up his, "Same with me,"

"Oh my, that's exactly what I was afraid of," Zaloog shook his head, "You think that's where it's safest, but it's not. You see, all the Shadow Duelists have to do is find you and they find the keys," he reasoned.

"So, the detective suggests that we all hide the keys somewhere," Banner explained to them.

Jaden looked at his key and shrugged, "Whatever's safer, I guess,"

Alexis walked over to her cousin, "Jordy, I'm gonna go with these guys for awhile. You gonna be ok?" she asked softly. Jordan nodded silently, earning a concerned look from his cousin.

_Jordy..._ she closed her eyes and followed the detective along with her friends.

As they walked, Siho kept staring at the back of Zaloog, chewing on his tongue.

_Something's not right here...I'm getting the feeling I had that night at Jaden's dorm when this all started_ he thought.

-----

"Nobody'd think to look _here_,"

Chazz hopped over a small couch in his dorm room and placed his key into a cupboard under his sink as the others watched him.

Detective Zaloog nodded, "Yes, very good, Chazz. Just be sure that you keep it a secret," he advised.

A loud noise from outside made everyone look towards the open door. Outside, was a huge, burly man wearing a staff uniform and cap. A large, stitched, scar ran along the top of his face, down his right eye and to his jaw. He stopped his current paint job and turned to the others, looking uncomfortable.

"Who is _that_?" Zaloog asked, nodding to the large man.

Jaden smiled, "Oh, him? That's just Gorg. He's the janitor,"

-----

"There we go, the junk drawer," Jaden dropped his key into a drawer filled with knick knacks and small toys.

Zaloog nodded, "Good idea. No one would ever find it in all that clutter," he agreed.

A slight rustling sound coming from the doorway made Jaden run over and yank the door open.

"Who's there?!" he snapped.

On the the other side of the doorway, a short boy with spiky blond hair in a Slifer Red jacket jumped back, looking very startled at Jaden's outburst.

"Oh...it's you, sorry man,"

Zaloog frowned, "So...who is it?" he demanded.

"Hey, C.K.!"

Jaden and the blonde boy turned to see Syrus, Chumley and Kairi walking up to them.

"You lost again?" Syrus asked.

Jaden nodded and pointed to the room nearby, "Your room's next door, remember?"

C.K. looked at the next room, and rubbed the back of his sheepishly, "Oh yeah...sorry, guys," he waved at them and walked off.

Chumley turned to the group, "He's a new transfer student," he explained, "He's kinda on the slow side. I love duelin' him...,"

"Yeah, because you're about on his level," Kairi cracked.

"Hey, I haven't seen you duel much, Kairi!" Chumley said defensively.

Siho shook his head, _Oy vey..._

-----

Alexis opened up a small jewelry box after leading the group to her room. She took off her key and placed it inside, "This where I keep all my other valuables...,"

Detective Zaloog nodded, "Good work, Alexis,"

"Oh, I'm sorry...,"

Everyone turned to see an attractive woman in a white coat, with brown hair going down her back, and a clipboard in her arms.

"I didn't mean to disturb you all," she apologized, "I just thought I'd come ask Alexis how her brother is doing...,"

Zaloog sat up, pointing to the woman, "Now, who is _this_?"

Alexis smiled and waved him off, "It's cool, Detective...she's the school nurse. No one to worry about,"

-----

"I bet your Spirit Key will be safe there, Professor Banner,"

Chazz rolled his eyes as Banner placed his own key into a small safe in the conference room of the Academy's main building.

"What makes you think that Chumley? The fact that it's called a _safe_?" he cracked.

Siho glared at him, "Hey, ease up, Princeton, he was just sayin'...,"

Detective Zaloog was about to say something when he noticed someone go by the door. He turned to see a man with short brown hair, wearing a dark blue uniform walk by the window.

"Wait, who is that over there!"

Banner glanced at the passerby and smiled, "Oh, that's just Cliff, the security guard. If anything, Cliff will make the Key more safe," he explained before yawning, "Well...I think we should turn in. I believe we will sleep soundly tonight,"

Zaloog nodded, "Yes, very soundly. Now, children," he turned to the Key-Keepers and their friends, "Off to bed. You all must be exhausted,"

-----

That night, as Jaden as his roommates slept, crumbs of plaster and wood fell from the ceiling above them. A hole was made by a large drill bit, which poked through the hole that was just above the desk where the junk drawer was.

-----

As Alexis slept peacefully alone in her Obelisk Blue dorm, a vent grate in her ceiling opened up and a thorny whip shot out of it, wrapping itself around her jewelry box before being pulled back up into the vent.

-----

In the conference room, a light shined on the safe that contained Banner's key. As the light positioned itself on the lock's number dial, a hand reached down and began to quickly go from side to side.

-----

As soon as every Key was gathered, the thieves gathered around the locks of the Spirit Gates. The three Keys won before them were in their slots, which were lit up, while the other keys were in their own slots...which weren't lit at all.

"And, it is done. All the Spirit Keys are ours!"

"Then why aren't the gates opening?"

"Yeah, that's the only way we can get those Legendary Demon cards!"

"We must have to do something else...,"

"Yes, and I bet those children know what. So much for doing this the _nice_ way,"

-----

Chazz was spending a nice sleep until a light shined into his eye. Groaning, he opened up his eye to find that both Syrus and Jaden had come into his room, arms waving around wildly. They looked like they were saying something but he couldn't hear a word. Scowling, Chazz sat up and pulled out his ear-plugs.

"Hey, morons? See these?" he held up his ear plugs, "Start over," he hissed.

"Your Key, Chazz! It's vanished!" Jaden cried, pointing to Chazz's door, which was demolished, "LOOK!"

Chazz stared at the door, then at his open cupboard, "What in the-no! It can't be!" he glared at Jaden, "How?!"

"Those things in your ears?" Jaden pointed to the ear plugs, "They also keep you from hearing your door being kicked in!" he glanced at the open door, "That means that _they_ are back!"

Chazz nodded.

"The Shadow Riders...,"

-----

After rounding up the others, the entire group sat in Chazz's rather cramped dorm room.

He looked at the others, "So, all of your Keys are gone, too?" he asked.

Banner nodded, "I'm afraid so...,"

Chazz glared at Jaden, "You see, and _they_ weren't wearing ear plugs!" he snapped.

"Don't worry, boys and girls, we'll get to the bottom of this,"

Everyone turned to see Zaloog standing in the doorway, with Gorg, the school nurse, Cliff the security guard, and C.K. standing behind him.

Banner rose to his feet, "Detective Zaloog, what's going on?" he asked.

The detective smiled, "I rounded up some suspects, so that we can solve this very serious crime,".

"Are you going to question them, then?" Banner inquired.

Zaloog nodded, "In due time, but first let me ask you all some questions, to help my investigation,"

Jaden shrugged, "Alright. Sounds good," he nodded at his friends, "After all, he _is_ the detective,"

"Wrong," Chazz and Siho said together.

Everyone looked at them curiously.

Chazz folded his arms, "Something's up...,"

"What do you mean?"

"Chazz, Siho, let him do his job,"

Siho shook his head, "Sorry teach, but this is a job for-,"

"Chazz Princeton!"

Siho fell off the mattress, "Dammit, rich-boy, why is it _always_ about you?!" he snapped.

"Shut up. Now, everyone who knew where those Keys were, are in this room right now," he glanced at the detective and the other four people, "So that means that the thief has to be, too,"

Christina glanced at Siho, who flipped her the bird behind Banner's back.

"How will we find him, then?" Syrus asked, "Don't we need evidence?"

Alexis nodded, "Well, now that you mention it. I _did_ find a press-on fingernail on my bedroom floor,"

The school nurse flinched, her eyes wide, _Uh oh... _she glanced at her fingers, to see a nail was missing.

"A press-on nail...interesting," Chazz said quietly, "A very promising clue, Lex. Where is the fingernail now?" he asked.

Alexis let out a nervous chuckle, "I...uh...kinda threw it away, already,"

"In the _garbage_? Great, there goes that lead," Siho threw his arms in the air, "Thanks, Lex,"

Banner leaned forward, "I got one! I found a set of footprints that led right up to my safe," he offered.

Cliff flinched, glancing at his muddy boots on the floor nearby.

"That's _perfect_, Professor Banner!" Chazz looked at his teacher, "What size shoe were they? What style was the shoe tread?"

Banner scratched his chin slowly, "I uh...vacuumed it up," he confessed.

"You know," Jaden turned to Syrus, "There was a hole in our room!"

Chazz glanced over his shoulder, "Lemme guess, Slacker...you already sealed it back up?"

"Uh...well, yeah,"

C.K. looked around, hiding a hand-turn drill behind the couch, looking from side to side as Pharaoh mewled.

"Well, I believe due to lack of evidence, we won't know who did it," Banner murmured, "Shame,"

Chazz and Siho rose from their seats, "We know who did it!"

Siho pointed to Cliff, "Him!" he then pointed to C.K., "And him!"

"And him, and her!" Chazz pointed to Gorg and the school nurse.

"Just what are you basing this on?!" C.K. snapped at them.

The nurse nodded, "Yeah! Like you said, you don't have any proof! You can't pin this on any of us!"

Chazz chuckled as Siho smirked confidently, "Oh, don't we?" they asked together.

Detective Zaloog frowned, "Look, how about _I_ ask the questions?" he offered.

"How's about we hear from _them_?" Chazz whipped out his Ojama cards.

"And him!" Siho held out a Vampire Lord card.

Christina stared at the card, "Dude, when did you get that?!"

"You see, when we hid each of the Spirit Keys, we hid one of these cards with them!" Chazz explained, "The three Ojamas are sorta my eyes and ears when I'm not around-,"

"Ditto," Siho waved his vamp card around, "Hid him in Alexis' room...,"

Chazz nodded and took out his deck, "While in _my _dorm room, these guys saw who did it!"

"Caught you red-handed!" Ojama Black cried, floating in front of Chazz.

"Sointly did!" Ojama Green agreed, joining in.

"Busted!" Ojama Yellow shouted.

"Never invade a vampire's dark domain," Vampire Lord shook his finger dismissively.

"Who told you _what_?" Zaloog asked.

"Really?" the nurse looked around, "I'm lost...,"

"Where are these so-called 'witnesses'?" Gorg, C.K., and Cliff asked together, looking around the room.

Chazz glared at hem, "Well, maybe _you_ can't see them...,"

"But _we_ can!" Siho finished, "And we know that they're behind this detective!"

Zaloog looked at both of the boys and chuckled, "I'm afraid you're mistaken...it's not just them. It's me, too,"

"WHAT?!" everyone looked at him, shocked.

"That's right, my children," Zaloog looked away, "We're all in on it. For we are the criminal ring known as...,"

Every single one of the five people threw of their clothes and everyone saw that they wore almost identical outfits. Brown, tight tank tops and tight red pants with brown patches. On every single one of their shoulders, the five people had a tattoo of a black scorpion.

"The Dark Scorpions!" they declared, posing together, arms pointed in different directions.

Gorg had his hands pointing to himself, C.K. had his hands pointing upward, Zaloog had his downward, while both the nurse and Cliff were pointing down towards the side.

"Never heard of you," the other occupants said together.

Christina turned to Alexis, "Them posin' like that is reminding me of the Ginyu Force...you know, from Dragon Ball Z?"

Zaloog smiled, "Of course, you haven't heard of us. We've been deep undercover at your school for years now, waiting for our chance to nab those Keys,"

"And now, the Dark Scorpions finally have them all!" the others cried out in unison.

Chazz smirked, "So what? To use them, you still gotta beat me in a duel. Bring it on!"

Jaden looked at him, "Why _you_? I'll do it," he offered.

"I'll take them on," Alexis threw in.

Syrus looked off to the side, "How about you, Professor Banner?"

The teacher shook his head and scooted away from them, "No thanks, I think I'll sit this one out,"

Zaloog grabbed a nearby duel disk, looking at it closely, "Of course, that's it! Why the Keys didn't work!" he donned the duel disk and stood up, followed by his companions, "We have to beat them in a duel!"

"That's right!" Chazz stood up, his own disk and deck at the ready, "So, let's go, Shadow Rider!"

-----

Everyone stepped out of the crowded dorm room and walked outside. Chazz stood alone while his friends and teacher stood behind him, a safe distance away. Zaloog had his own cronies behind him as well.

"DUEL!" they shouted.

**Z: 4000  
C: 4000**

"I'll win this as easy as I stole your Keys!" Zaloog drew his card, "First, I'll summon Golem Sentry (800/1800) in defense mode!" he paused as a large rounded slab of stone appeared, carrying a spear appeared, "Next, I'll lay this card facedown, and that'll do for me," he finished, putting a card into his disk.

"My turn!" Chazz drew his card, "I play the Spell card, Fiend Sanctuary! With this card, I can summon a Metal Fiend Token (0/0) to the field!" he declared as a strange metal figure appeared, "Now, I'll sacrifice the Fiend Token to bring out the Armed Dragon LV5 (2400/1700)!"

Everyone watched as Chazz's spiked Dragon appeared, the blades on it's body sparkling in the night air.

"Go, Armed Dragon LV5! Use those arms to destroy that Golem! Spiked Spinner!"

Armed Dragon flew over to the Golem, it's arm spinning like mad before ramming it's claws into the stony hide. The Golem blew up, sending a smokey cloud all around the field.

"Alright," Chazz smirked, "For my next move, I'll place two facedowns and then I'll activate my Armed Dragon's ability...and it's a big one," he took his Dragon's card off the disk and slipped it into his Graveyard.

Jaden and the others watched as a bigger version of the Armed Dragon appeared on Chazz's field, stronger than the last.

"Got that right," Jaden nodded, "On the turn that LV5 wins a fight, you can trade him in for...,"

"Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000)," Chazz finished.

"Level him up all you want, 'cuz it won't matter!" Zaloog snapped as he drew his card, "And you're about to see why! First, I play Pot of Greed. This Spell card allows me to draw two more cards from my deck," he drew his new cards, and smiled at them, "Just what I wanted!" he held up a card, "The one and only...Don Zaloog (1400/1500)!"

He slapped the card onto his disk, and actually moved onto the field, in a place where a monster would be, "And when I say 'one and only' I really mean it, because, my children, I _am_ him!" he said proudly.

Syrus blinked, "So wait...,"

"He's a _card_?" Chumley asked.

Christina looked at Siho, "Is it just me, or are those some of the people our friends face? People that are really cards? It's just weird...,"

"Not just me, but with this," Don Zaloog held up another card, "Mustering of the Dark Scorpions, I can summon _all _of them. All of them that are in my hand, anyway. Dark Scorpions, join me on the field!" he ordered, placing four more cards onto his disk, "Dark Scorpion roll call!"

Gorg ran over, carrying a huge spiked mace, "Dark Scorpion - Gorg the Strong (1800/1500)! Now," he looked around, "Who's got the rolls? I heard we have rolls,"

"He meant your name, idiot!" the former nurse snapped at him as she joined them on the field, thorny whip in her hand, "Dark Scorpion - Meanae the Thorn (1000/1800)!"

Cliff held up his daggers as he stepped onto the field, "Name's Cliff the Trap Remover (1200/1000), guess how I remove 'em,"

_He's a Dark Scorpion? Dude doesn't even have Dark Scorpion as his name like the others _Siho thought, _Take some pride in your work and have the Dark Scorpion name, pal..._

"I'm Dark Scorpion - Chick the Yellow (1000/1000)!" C.K. shouted, hopping up and down, a large hammer on his back, "I'm six foot...when I jump up!"

Chazz looked at them, _Losers..._

"Now, I play a Trap called Dark Scorpion Combination!" Don Zaloog held up his arm as the facedown card behind Chick came upward, causing the smaller thief to move away, "You see, on the first turn that all the Dark Scorpions are out, we can attack you directly, and for each attack, you lose 400 Life Points,"

With a battle-cry, all the Dark Scorpions ran towards Chazz, weapons at the ready.

"Take this!" Meanae shouted as she lashed at Chazz, "Thorn Whip!"

"Double Blast!" Don Zaloog pulled out two pistols and fired on Chazz.

"Scorpion Slice!" Cliff slashed with both daggers.

"Mallet Mash!" Chick heaved his hammer up and down, hitting it's mark.

"Hammer Hammer!" Gorg grunted, raising his own mace.

Chazz doubled over, feeling the pain from the attacks as the group of thieves retreated back to their side of the field.

**Z: 4000  
C: 2000**

"This isn't how you wanna start a duel, Chazz!" Jaden called out.

Don Zaloog chuckled, "There's more, too. You see Chazz, now our special abilities go in effect with you,"

Chazz winced and looked up, "Say wha?"

Gorg nodded, "That's right. First, a monster from your field must return to the top of your deck," he explained as Armed Dragon LV7 disappeared from the field.

"Next, a card on your field returns to your hand," Chick carried out as one of Chazz's facedowns went back to his hand.

"There's more," Cliff smiled, "The first two cards on your deck go to your Graveyard...,"

Chazz growled as he tossed the Armed Dragon LV7 and a Spell card into the Graveyard slot.

"And then, one card in your hand is destroyed," Don Zaloog carried on.

Chazz watched as his Masked Dragon (1400/1100) disappeared from his hand.

"Finally, a card with 'Dark Scorpion' in it's name can be added to our hand from the Graveyard," Meanae giggled.

Don Zaloog picked up the mentioned card, "It's this, Dark Scorpion Combination...the card that started it all...and the card that will _end_ it all!" he cried happily.

"Hang tough, Chazz!" Jaden cheered, "You can beat these guys!"

"Yeah! Kick their thievin' asses!" Christina shouted.

Siho glared at her.

"No offense, Siho,"

Chazz glared at his audience, "Shut up, guys! Of course, I can beat them. Now, let the Chazz do his thing," he turned back to his opponents, "I activate a Trap card! Level Modulation! Now, you get to draw two cards, and I get to Special Summon from the Graveyard, a high-level monster without paying a dime. So, I'll summon Armed Dragon LV7!"

With a flash of bright, red light, Chazz's fearsome Dragon appeared once more, roaring.

"Him again?" Don Zaloog drew his two cards thanks to the Trap card, "You give me no choice but to play two facedowns,"

Syrus groaned, "I _hate_ it when these guys play facedowns,"

"I hear ya, Sy," Jaden glanced at his friend, "This should be interesting,"

_Not very. I know for a fact that one of those is Dark Scorpion Combination again_ Siho stared at the enemy's field, _He'll probably use it to attack Chazz directly again, since none of those guys are strong enough to take down the Armed Dragon..._

"It's my turn!" Chazz drew his card, "And first, Armed Dragon LV7's ability activates! By discarding one monster card from my hand, any and all monster cards with equal or fewer attack points than the monster I tossed, is destroyed!"

The group of thieves stepped back, horrified.

Chazz picked up one of the two cards in his hand, "So, the monster I'm discarding is Despair from the Dark (2800/3000) which has 2800 attack points!"

Zaloog grinned, "Not so fast! I play a Trap called Retreat of the Dark Scorpions! Now, all Dark Scorpions on the field return to my hand," he explained as he, and his fellow thieves ran off the field. Zaloog snatched all the cards on his field, including his own monster card, and gathered them into his hands.

Chazz rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll just attack directly. Armed Dragon LV7, attack with Dragon Sonic Sphere!"

Armed Dragon LV7 held up a paw as an orb of crackling, yellow energy appeared. The Dragon took aim and fired it straight at Zaloog, causing the leader of the group to cry out in pain.

**Z: 1200  
C: 2000**

Gorg and Chick watched, stunned, "Oh no!"

"How dare he strike the boss!" Cliff snapped.

"Don't you worry, we'll get him back," Meanae swore.

"Next, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Chazz finished, sliding a card into his disk.

"One lucky move, that's all, it won't matter. It ends _here_!" Don Zaloog drew his card, "I summon myself, Don Zaloog, once again!" he chuckled as he came back to the field, "Next, I'll play Mustering of the Dark Scorpions!" he looked over his shoulder, "Welcome back team!"

Chazz grinned as the thieves cheered, "Sorry, but they're not back yet. I play Ojama Trio!" Chazz's facedown was revealed to show a picture of the Ojama brothers.

The Dark Scorpions looked around and were surprised to see the three Ojamas on _their_ side instead of Chazz's.

Cliff frowned, "Wait, how come they're over here?"

"So you all _can't_ be," Chazz explained, "Ojama Trio creates Ojama Tokens (0/1000) and they take up three of your monster spaces. Also, if they're destroyed, you lose 300 Life Points for each one!"

"Sorry, pal," Black apologized as he did som sit-ups.

"Thanks for havin' us!" Green said as he picked his nose.

"I just love hot chocolate," Yellow said aloud as he held a cup of steaming cocoa.

"That means we can't come out?" Chick asked, "Man, no fair!"

"I can!" Meanae looked at Zaloog, "Go on boss, do what you have to do!"

Zaloog closed his eyes, "Meanae, I'll never forget you for this," he said as the female Scorpion came to his side, "I play Dark Scorpion - Tragedy of Love! When Don Zaloog and Meanae the Thorn are on the field, I can send Meanae to the Graveyard to destroy _all_ of your monsters!"

Meanae screamed and jumped into the air, lasso-ing Armed Dragon LV7 with her thorn whip, which seemed to emit electricity as it connected. The Dragon roared and exploded, sending Meanae flying.

"Avenge me, Boss, avenge me!" she screamed.

Zaloog looked at her, then back to his opponent, pulling out his guns, "I sure will! I'll attack you directly...Double Blast Attack!" he shouted, firing off a volley of bullets at Chazz.

**Z: 1200  
C: 600**

"And now, my special ability activates! You have to discard one random card from your hand!"

Chazz looked at the _only_ card in his hand and grinned, "Actually, it'd be my pleasure,"

"Huh?" Zaloog looked at him, unsure of what he just said.

"Cuz the only card in my hand is...," Chazz turned the card over, "Ojamagic. When this card goes to my Graveyard, Ojama's Yellow (0/1000), Black (0/1000) and Green (0/1000), all come to my hand,".

Zaloog smirked, "Bring 'em out, they don't scare me!" he challenged.

"Well then, I'll see what I can do to change that," Chazz gathered the three Ojamas and drew his card normal turn card, "Go, Pot of Greed!" he drew two more cards, "Next, I play Polymerization! Are ya scared yet?"

Christina looked at Siho, and he looked at her.

"Polymerization?" they asked together, "What the hell can he make with that?"

Alexis moved away from the two, "You guys are creepin' me out a bit with that...,"

"Do your thing, Ojamas!" Chazz shouted as he held up his three monsters. The three monsters popped out of their cards.

"You got it!" Yellow laughed before jumping into the air.

"Time to show these numbskulls!" Black grinned before joining his brother.

"It sointenly is!" Green agreed before jumping too.

The three Ojama's crashed into one another's heads and the sky was lit up with brilliant colors. Everyone oohed and ahhed while Chazz just watched, looking kind of irritated.

From the three Ojamas came a huge monster, one with sickly white skin, a very large, round heard with a pair of bikini briefs on top, and another pair in the normal area between it's legs. Along with a huge nose, a small crown on the head bikini's, a cape, and a pair of giant eyestalks with red eyes, it looked...rather freaky.

"OJAMA KING (0/3000)!!!" the fat-headed monster shouted, standing very tall in the sky, overshadowing the Dark Scorpions as the there Ojama tokens cheered him on.

"Next, I'll play my Spell card, Ojamuscle!" Chazz held up his final card.

Ojama King's fat body suddenly turned into a body of a wrestler. From a large six-pack to arms of huge muscles. The Ojama King looked down at his token brethren, "Ojama Tokens, come to Daddy!"

Christina gagged as a huge, fat tongue rolled out of Ojama King's mouth and wrapped itself around the Tokens before pulling them into it's mouth. As soon as they entered his belly, puffs of smoke popped around Ojama King's body.

"Ojamuscle destroys all Ojama monsters out, and for each one destroyed, King gains 1000 attack points, and since those were Ojama _Tokens_, you lose 300 Life Points for each one,"

**Z: 300  
C: 600**

"Now, King's attack points will rise to 3000!"

Ojama King (3000/3000)

"Now, Ojama King, attack Don with Flying Belly Flop Drop!" Chazz ordered, pointing to the Shadow Rider.

Ojama King jumped high into the air and flew over Don Zaloog, his cape flying in the wind. He looked down as he began to descend, "INCOMING!"

Comically, but effectively, Ojama King fell from the sky like a rock and landed ontop of Don Zaloog, wiping the rest of his Life Points out.

**Z: 0  
C: 600**

Chazz smiled as his friends cheered for his victory, "Bye-bye...,"

Don Zaloog lifted his head as he lay in a somewhat deep imprint of his body, made by Ojama King, "It...can't be. We can't lose!" he moaned as his eyepatch began to glow a golden light.

Shouting all at once, his followers ran towards him, wanting to help. However, as they ran towards him, they began to glow as well and soon they disapppeared, leaving only cards in their wake. Don Zaloog followed suit...because the only thing left in the imprint hole, was a card, and his Shadow Charm eyepatch.

Chazz bent down and picked up the card, "Well guys...looks like that's one less Shadow Rider to worry about," he said as he picked up the eyepatch.

"Good riddance," Chumley said with a nod as he and Syrus began to pick up the other cards around the area.

"That's what you get for trying to steal," the short Slifer chimed in as he looked at one of the cards.

Siho folded his arms, "That's not always true ya know,"

Chumley and Syrus looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Uh...nothin',"

"Well, at least the Spirit Keys are still save," Banner sighed in relief, heading to his room.

Alexis nodded and looked around, "But where's Don Zaloog, and the other Dark Scorpions?" she asked.

"Dunno, but Chazz looks worried," Jaden murmured, looking at the black-coated Slifer, "Wonder why?"

-----

Chazz climbed into his bed and put his trusty earplugs in before lying down. He was about to go to sleep, but opened an eye to see The Dark Scorpions, now duel spirits, along with the Ojama's and a few of other Chazz's monsters, as well as (for some reason) Siho's Vampire Lord, having a good time.

"You sure know how to throw a good party, Ojama Yellow!" Don Zaloog praised, waving a transparent cup in the air.

"And it's goin' _all_ night long!" Yellow laughed.

Vampire Lord slid next to Meanae, "Hey...nice whip. Wanna see something else you can use it for?" he asked.

Meanae glared at him, then turned to the Ojamas, ignoring the perverted Vampire spirit, "Hey, where's Ojama King?" she asked.

"He comes late," Yellow explained, floating around, "He likes to make a _big _entrance!"

"That's dynamite!" Zaloog laughed.

Outside of Chazz's room, Siho stood on the walkway, holding two glowing jewels in his hands. The purple light from the jewels illuminated his face, as well as his palms. These, he had found when he and Jordan took out the two Cocytus members before. Of course, Jordan didn't know about the necklace, given he was unconcious at the time.

He watched as the jewels glowed brightly, then dimmed, became lifeless. With a sigh, he stuffed them in his blazer pocket, listening to the party inside.

"I didn't know that they made cards on those who study the craft," he thought aloud, "Maybe...maybe Chazz will let me have 'em later on. I'm sure he'd love to get rid of _some_ roommates,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Huh...who'da thought that the Ojama's would have a King...or even be used in a Fusion? Well, I guess new things come and go every day, or in this case, every few chapters. Catch ya later, ya'll, ja ne!**


	58. Legend of the Unbeaten Pharaoh

**Legend of the Unbeaten Pharaoh**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

In a large hallway made of stone, torches were lit without anyone touching them. At the end of the hall, figures in clay, painted masks and robes stood around a large sarcophagus as two others grabbed hold of the lid and pulled it away.

A figure in a beautiful golden death mask, staffs crossed over its arms slowly rose up in the sarcophagus. Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd of robed people as they knelt down at the presence of the figure.

"Why has my slumber been disrupted?" the figure demanded, looking at the congregation.

"To fulfill your duty to the Shadows," an ominous voice boomed from above as a large orb of light shined brightly. A symbol on the figure's mask glowed brightly seconds later. It stood up to full height and thrusted its staff outward.

"Ready my vessel!"

-----

Another day, another class at Duel Academy. While Banner usually did Alchemy and Fusion lessons, he also taught some History as well. He had artist renderings of the most famous duelists of all time taped to the blackboard while his students paid close attention.

He pointed to one that showed a young man with crazy, lightning bolt-like hair, "You all know Yugi Motou," he then pointed to a picture of a young man with short hair and a smug look on his face, "and Seto Kaiba as dueling legends, far and away, the very _best_ of their generation,"

"Best looking, too," a random girl cooed.

"They're dreamboats," another girl sighed happily.

Christina gagged, "I think I'm gonna barf...,"

"I like Mai Valentine," a male threw in.

Siho nodded, "Big blonde with a big rack...I'm with ya man!"

Again, Christina gagged, "Yep, I can taste my lunch again,"

"But, you _do_ realize, class, that there were other great duelists, well before their time," Banner added as he gathered his notes into a blue folder.

"How is that, Prof?" Jaden asked, propping his head on his hand, "I mean Duel Monsters hasn't been around all that long,"

Siho shook his head, "Next time, don't fall asleep in class, Yuki. They used to play in Ancient Egypt,"

Banner nodded, "That's right, Siho, and one of the best from those days was a Pharaoh named Abidos III," he held up a rough sketch of a young man in robes and a headdress with a mask, "Abidos was undefeated,"

Jaden lifted his head, "_Undefeated_? That's sweet! He must've been something else. Of course, it's a good thing he's not around today, because that undefeated record would go _adios_!"

Chazz smirked at the Slifer below him, "Sure, it would, Slacker. You could probably even take down Yugi and Kaiba, too!"

"Really?" Jaden turned in his seat, a smile on his face, "Well, thanks, Chazz, I had no idea you believed in me!"

Chazz's eye twitched as he slowly reached out for Jaden's throat, "It's...sarcasm...hear that?" he hissed.

"Sure," Jaden turned around and put his hands behind his head, "But if you wanted to change your name Chazz, you can do a _lot_ better than 'Sarcasm',".

"You know what I mean!" Chazz snapped, grabbing Jaden and pulling him into a headlock.

Siho smiled and stood up, "Ten bucks says that Princeton beats him!"

"That, and a few rare cards!" Christina added.

Syrus watched the two of them, smiling nervously, "C'mon, guys, you're gonna get us in trouble...,"

"You wanna see trouble?!" Chazz pulled hard on Jaden's ears, "Fine, how about this?"

"Guys, stop!" Syrus pleaded in a whisper, "He's gonna hear us!"

"He sure will...,"

All five of the Slifers stopped and looked forward to see Banner staring straight at them, looking a bit sore at their behavior.

"You can continue in detention,"

Syrus groaned, "Aw, man, that's the fifth time this week!"

Christina rubbed her eyes, "Hope my folks don't hear about this...,"

-----

That night, Zane and Vahn walked onto the lighthouse dock where both Alexis and Jordan were standing, looking out at sea. Alexis turned and noticed them, "Thanks for coming, guys," she said quietly.

"Eh, got nothing else to do," Vahn said with a shrug, "So, what the hell?"

Alexis frowned slightly, "I just needed someone to talk to...,"

"What about him?" Vahn nodded to Jordan.

"He hasn't said much at all since Atticus has been up and around. I mean, I thought with him back, everything would be okay again, but it just seems like there are more questions now," she shook her head, "Then there's these Shadow Riders...I just don't know what to do, guys,"

"Nor I," Zane turned his attention to the water, "But know, that you, Atticus, and Jordan are safe, Alexis,"

Vahn nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Yeah...besides, I'd like to see one of these Shadow Riders up close,"

Alexis was about to scold him for being so carefree about their enemies when the are began to shake a little. Zane looked to the side and watched in horror as rotted mummies began to rise out of the cement...straight up out of the _cement_!

"Holy...crap," Vahn stared at the mummies as more and more popped out of the ground. In an effort to protect her, Jordan, Zane and Vahn stepped between the mummies and Alexis.

Zane looked at them all, "Not good...,"

"Oh, yeah think?" Vahn snapped, "What do we do now, call Brendan Fraser?" he cracked.

-----

"Man, I can't believe this! I spend more time in detention than I do in class," Syrus whined as he and his friends walked back to the Slifer Dorm after detention, "My mom's not gonna like this,"

"Hey, you think you got it bad?" Christina looked at him, "I promised my folks I'd do better here than at normal school, and I was doing good, until I got in _good_ with you guys, and here I am gettin' lotsa detentions...," she shook her head, "Betcha I'm gonna get my ear chewed off next time I talk to my folks,"

"Don't blame us, Chrissy, blame Sarcasm here," Jaden cracked.

Chazz grabbed him in a tight headlock again, "Ok, the joke's old, Slacker! Shut it!"

Syrus and Christina looked at the two of them and sighed, "Least things can't get any worse," they murmured together.

A loud screamed made everyone stop what they were doing.

"What was that?" Jaden and the others ran to the edge of the path and looked out at the docks. They could see their friends being surrounded by a group of mummies.

"Zane!"

"Alexis!"

"Jordan!"

Zane jerked his head back, hearing the cries of his friends, "Get out of here!" he shouted, "Save yourselves!"

Jaden shook his head and started down the path again, "No way! You guys need-,"

Everyone stopped running as mummies rose out of the ground ahead of them, as well as behind them.

"...help,"

"Give us your Spirit Key...," one of the mummies growled as the horde advanced on them.

_Damn...Shadow Rider shit_ Siho backed into Jaden, facing down the other mummies, "Any plans, guys?"

"Personally, I'd say do something out of a George Romero flick, but we don't have any guns so...," Christina shook her head, "That and runnin' away is not workable right now,"

"We're boned, ain't we?"

"Yeah, we're boned,"

"Guys...," Syrus pointed up in the sky, "What's _that_?"

The others looked up to see something descend through the thick clouds. It was a strange boat, with a glass dome on top and a body structure made entirely, or at least what looked like, solid gold. As the boat came down, it began to shine brightly, making everyone cover their eyes.

"Dammit...Enel's real?!"

"Chrissy, this is _not_ a time for One Piece jokes!" Siho shouted.

"Duelists...," a voice from above called out to them as the light became brighter and brighter, "I have come for you!"

-----

Jaden slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a cold floor. Staring up at the sky, he could see a large moon out of the corner of his eye and a blanket of stars above him. Slowly, he sat up and looked around.

"Glad to see you're with us, Jaden,"

The Slifer turned to see Zane, Jordan, Siho, Chrissy, Syrus, Alexis, Chazz, Vahn, and Banner (with Pharaoh in his arms), sitting nearby.

"What the-?" Jaden looked at his friends, then turned to Banner, "Professor!"

Banner frowned and nodded, "Those mummies found me and brought me here. I think my Spirit Key must've led them to me,"

"Yes, that must be how they found _all_ of us," Zane nodded slowly.

Siho glanced at him, "You _lost_ your Key, Truesdale, why would they want you?" he cracked.

Zane glared at him, "You never had one, Zolaro, so you shouldn't be talking," he snapped.

_Bakas..._ Christing shook her head as a loud _bong_ filled the air, making the others look towards the heightened walkway ahead of them.

Jaden rushed to the platform and looked to the other end of the strange ship they were on. Dozens of men in robes, wearing masks and carrying spears and swords occupied the left and ride sides of the other end while, in the middle of them, on the platform, a large golden throne stood, a figure in ancient Egyptian style robe lounged, looking bored.

Everyone else gathered around Jaden, peeking over the platform at the figure. The being on the throne lifted it's masked head, looking straight at them.

"Hello there...,"

Banner yelped and fell over onto his back, fainting.

Syrus and Chazz looked over their shoulders at him as Pharaoh pawed at his master.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I dunno...looks like he's seen a ghost,"

The figure stood up from it's seat, "What is this?"

Jaden hopped onto the platform, causing his friends to call out to him, "Hey, what's the big idea?!" he demanded.

"That's _not _how one should address an Egyptian Pharaoh," the figure scolded, walking towards the center of the platform.

"Egyptian Pharaoh?" Jaden, Siho, and Christina repeated in unison.

Chazz frowned, "He looks like the picture that Banner showed us in class today...,"

Alexis nodded, "Abidos...,"

Abidos looked at the others, "You two," he pointed to Alexis and Christina, "You two would make fine palace girls, my beautiful doves,"

"The name's Alexis-,"

"And Christina!"

"-you masked weirdo," Alexis finished, "Now, what's going on?!"

"He's a Shadow Rider," Zane explained, "After those Legendary Demon cards, like all the others,"

"Looks like the punk's got us outnumbered," Chazz added, glaring at the armed guards behind Abidos.

Abidos nodded, "That's right, so leave all your Keys and walk away. You _don't_ want to duel _me_,"

"I do! I do!" Jaden waved his hand, grinning, "Over here! Please, pick me! C'mon!"

Syrus' head fell forward, "Jaden...,"

"And I'll show ya how we duel in the 21st Century!"

Abidos gawked at him from behind his mask, "You can't talk to me like that!"

"You can't talk to him like that!" one of his guards grunted.

"Jaden, you _do_ realize that this will be a Shadow Game, right?" Zane asked.

"He's right," Alexis stepped forward a bit, "Not only is your Key on the line, but your soul as well!"

"And this guy's _undefeated_!" Syrus added in a begging tone, "Don't do it...,"

"Not for long," Jaden turned to Abidos, "When I'm done with him, _I'll _be the legend! So get your game on, Abidos!"

Abidos huffed, "My game is _always_ on. Now, prepare yourself Key-Keeper, for-,"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. This isn't our first Shadow Game...," Chazz interrupted, tossing Jaden a duel disk, "Catch, Slacker!"

Syrus looked at the disk, then turned to his now open backpack, "Hey, that duel disk looks like mine,"

Jaden caught the disk and brought out his deck from his belt, "Alright, game on!"

Both Jaden and Abidos inserted their decks into their own disks. Abidos' was another custom-made duel disk. It looked like a regular golden armlet for a Pharaoh, but seconds after he put his deck in, a metal wing popped out and spread outward, creating a disk field for the duel.

"DUEL!" the two opponent shouted, drawing their hands.

**A: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Let's see...," Abidos drew the first card of the duel, "First, I think I'll summon Pharaonic Protector (900/0) in defense mode...,"

A monster, looking identical to some of the guards behind Abidos appeared, kneeling down.

Syrus stared at the monster, "Zero defense points?"

"Maybe...it's an effect monster?" Christina offered, shrugging.

"Next, I'll place one card facedown. Your turn," Abidos slipped a single card into his disk.

"Alright, here I go!" Jaden drew his card.

Abidos shook his head as his just played facedown was revealed to show a strange coffin, "Not before I activate my Trap card, The First Sarcophagus!"

Jaden looked at the Trap card, "I've never heard of _that_ card,"

"Well, after this match, you won't forget it," Abidos chuckled, "Though, you'll have to wait until I bring out the other two sarcophagi, before you see why, Key-Keeper!"

Jaden shrugged, "Okay, whatever. Can I go now? 'Cuz I gotta couple of Duel Monster tricks of my own that I wanna show you, Abidos!"

"Put your monsters where your mouth is then, boy,"

"Okay...you asked for it!" Jaden slapped a card onto his disk, "Here's...Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in attack mode!" he paused as his faithful feathered Hero appeared, "Next, check out the Spell card!" Jaden held out a strange new card with a large blue H with flames on it, "H - Heated Heart! Now, a monster on my field gains 500 extra attack points,"

E-Hero Avian (1500/1000)

"But that's not all! If he attacks a monster in defense mode, the extra damage goes straight to you!" Jaden explained, "Now, Avian, Quill Cascade!"

Avian beat his wings, sending hardened feathers straight at the Pharaonic Protector, most of them going straight through it before it blew up in a cloud of smoke. Abidos stepped back, feeling the damage.

**A: 2500  
J: 4000**

"Sweetness!" Jaden pumped his arm, "Duelin's not what it used to be, huh, Old-Timer?" he teased.

"No, it's _much_ tamer now," Abidos hissed as he drew his card, and while his Trap card glowed, "Let me give you a taste of the old-school. I play Second Sarcophagus!" he declared as another Sarcophagus card appeared on the field, "And once the third one is played, this duel and your soul will be mine!"

Alexis crossed her arms, watching the duel closely, "What to do...?"

"I don't wanna know!" Syrus whimpered.

"I say...,"

Alexis turned at the sound of her cousin's voice, "Jordy?"

Jordan clenched his fists tightly, sheer rage in his eyes, "I say Jaden should kick his ass and toss him off the boat, see if he lands on his head.

Christina looked at him, just as surprised as Alexis was, then turned to Siho, "Man, and I thought _you_ were dark and disturbed...Siho?"

However, Siho was watching the duel as well...but seemed to be off someplace, as if in deep thought.

"Next, I'll play my Pot of Greed!" Abidos declared, drawing two more cards, and slipped a newly drawn card into his disk, "Go! Tribute to the Doomed! Now, by discarding one card from my hand...," he paused and sent one card to the Graveyard, "A monster of yours is destroyed!"

Jaden watched as Avian sank into the dueling platform, disappearing completely.

"Next, I'll play Pharaoh's Servant (900/0) in attack mode!" Abidos placed a card on his disk and a man in a mask, carrying a spear appeared on the field, "Now, stick him!"

The Servant nodded and ran over to Jaden, then swung his spear hard into him. Jaden cried out in pain as his points went down.

**A: 2500  
J: 3100**

"My undefeated record will be staying intact, but you will not!" Abidos slipped another card into a slot of his disk, "Don't worry, Key-Keeper, it's your turn again. That is, if you have the strength to play it, that is,"

Jaden lifted his head, grinning, "C'mon...give us present day duelists _some _credit! It's my go...," he drew his card, "...and I play this card: E - Emergency Call! This Spell card springs an Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand," Jaden pulled out his deck and looked through it before taking one out, "and the one I'm gonna be springing is the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)!"

Siho nodded as Jaden's electric Hero came to the field, _That's it...c'mon, Jaden!_

"And there's more! I'm gonna play this Spell card. R - Righteous Justice!" Jaden held up another card with a large letter on it.

"What's _that_ do?" Syrus wondered aloud.

Zane walked up behind him, eyes never leaving the duel, "For every Elemental Hero on the field, well, one of Abidos' Trap or Spell cards is destroyed," he explained.

_Yuki just keeps surprising us_ Siho thought, folding his arms, _If not with new Heroes, then with new Spell cards. It's amazing..._

"Yeah," Jaden nodded and pointed to one certain card, "Like that First Sarcophagus ya got there! Looks like we won't be seeing what it does now...,"

Abidos growled at him.

"Righteous Justice, destroy that First Sarcophagus!" Jaden ordered.

"I don't think so!" Abidos shouted as he tossed a card into the Graveyard, while his facedown flipped over, "Go, Magic Jammer! This card turns your Righteous Justice into a righteous _waste_!" he said smugly as a dark aura shot out of his Trap card and ran into Jaden's Spell, blowing it away.

Jaden grinned at the move, "Wicked counter...that's what I'm talking about!"

"You should be talking about getting some new cards for that weak deck," Abidos spat.

Syrus' jaw dropped, "He shouldn't have said that...,"

"Yeah, bad call," Alexis agreed with him.

"HIT THE DECK PEOPLE!" Christina screamed, tackling Siho to the floor.

"Weak?" Jaden repeated, "Think and see if this is weak...Sparkman, attack!"

The dueling floor was covered in smoke as Pharaoh's Servant was shocked to bits and pieces from a power blast made by Sparkman.

**A: 1800  
J: 3100**

"You...can't...attack me...," Abidos fell to his hands and knees, feeling the leftover pain.

Jaden scratched his head, "I _can't_? Uh...check the rulebook, but yeah, you can. That's how I play,"

"But _I_ am Abidos!" the Pharaoh protested, "The greatest duelist ever!"

"More like the greatest pain in the ass, ever," Siho muttered under his breath, then glanced to Christina, "On the other hand...,"

_WHAP!_

Jaden looked at him, "Greatest? I'm not so sure about that. To tell ya the truth, ya haven't even been dueling that great," he confessed, "I mean, for someone undefeated, I was kinda hopin' for ya know, some super sweet monsters or some rare cards...but so far, I've been kinda _underwhelmed_,"

Syrus nodded, "No joke...his cards are barely better than a Starter Deck! For a legend, this guy is a bit of a let down,"

"Looks like Jaden's gonna win this one _easy_, there goes my shot at a new room," Chazz murmured.

"Your move, Abidos," Jaden called out, but watched as the Shadow Rider wasn't moving. He was just sitting there. Jaden waved, "Hello? Hello...?"

-Flashback-

_In the throneroom, in the mighty palace of the Pharaoh in Egypt, a line of priests stood silently as one of their own stood across from Abidos, both of them with a strange, golden armlet on their wrists._

_"Now," Abidos waved his hand forward, "I'll attack with Sinister Serpent (300/250)!"_

_The Priest yelled in pain as a giant green snake leapt out of a stone tablet and bit into him._

_"I win another match!"_

_From there, more and more priests challenged the young Pharaoh, but Abidos kept beating them all with various monsters._

_"I cannot be beaten!" he cried out as the final priest was defeated._

_The priest knelt down in front of his lord, "You are the greatest, O Pharaoh...,"_

_"All hail Abidos!" another Priest cried._

_"Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!"_

_Abidos smirked at his victory and retreated back to his throne while his priests left the room, disgruntled._

_One huffed, "I'm getting really sick and tired of losing to this spoiled brat all the time!"_

_"But, if we don't, he'll probably feed us to the lions," one pointed out._

-End Flashback-

Abidos knelt there, thoughts running through his head.

"Wait...could it be that all my servants _let_ me win?"

Jaden reared his head back as those words reached his ears, "Let you win...?"

"Man, what a loser," Chazz scoffed.

"His whole life has been a lie...," Alexis said quietly.

Syrus tilted his head, "You know what, I wouldn't mind having some servants like his...,"

"Yeah, well I wouldn't mind having Alexis as a dancer girl, but ya don't see that happenin',"

_WHAP WHAP WHAP_

Siho rubbed the lumps on his head as Christina, Alexis, and Jordan turned back to the duel in front of them.

"You never_ really_ dueled?" Jaden asked his opponent.

Abidos' shoulders slumped as he climbed to his feet, "I...I guess not,"

"Then, let's start your first lesson, right now!"

Abidos lifted his head, looking at Jaden, "W-what?"

Jaden nodded, smiling, "You heard me right, get your game on...again! But, if this is gonna be your first _real_ duel, then let's do this right and ditch that mask,"

Slowly, Abidos reached up and pulled away his golden mask, to reveal a handsome young man with tan skin and large, blue-gray eyes.

"That's it," Jaden nodded.

"Jaden, just promise me you'll give it your best," Abidos pleaded.

Jaden smiled, "That's all I _ever_ give, now let's duel!" he slipped a card into his disk, "I'm throwin' down a facedown. Alright, Abidos, it's your move,"

"Very well! I activate Third Sarcophagus!" Abidos' deck glowed brightly as a third coffin card appeared on his field, joining the first two.

Alexis scowled, "Leave it to Jaden to pep talk a Shadow Rider...,"

"No joke," Chazz muttered, "Bad idea,"

"Now, I sacrifice all three sarcophagi to _finally_ summon, Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000) in attack mode!" Abidos smiled widely as his three cards lit up like a wildfire.

Jaden raised an eyebrow, "Spirit of the who-what-now?"

In the place of the three cards, a large, golden sarcophagus appeared on the field. With creaks and groans, the sarcophagus slid open and a large figure with dark blue skin, wearing impressive Egyptian armor, and carrying both a hooked staff and a sleek sword climbed out, growling.

"Guess he _looks_ cool, but I gotta admit...," Jaden shrugged, "I expected a _lot_ more than 2500 attack points,"

"I'm not done!" Abidos snapped at him, "A Pharaoh is _nothing_ without his servants! You see, whenever he," he nodded to his newest monster, "I can Special Summon four Level 2 Zombies from my Graveyard!"

Everyone watched as two Pharaoh Servants and two Pharaonic Protectors appeared alongside the Spirit of the Pharaoh.

Pharaonic Protector 1 (900/0)  
Pharaonic Protector 2 (900/0)  
Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000)  
Pharaoh's Servant 1 (900/0)  
Pharaoh's Servant 2 (900/0)

E-Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)

"And now, my draw!" Abidos drew his card.

"Not so fast, Abidos!" Jaden pressed a button on his duel disk, "Go, Invincible Hero!"

Abidos looked at Jaden's revealed facedown card, "A Trap?"

"For this one turn, you _can't_ destroy my Sparkman!" Jaden explained to him.

"Then...I suppose it's a very good thing, that I have this card," Abidos held up one of the cards from his hand, earning a questioning look from Jaden, "I activate the powers of Thousand Energy! Now, all Level 2 monsters on the field gain 1000 attack points!"

Pharaonic Protector 1 (1900/0)  
Pharaonic Protector 2 (1900/0)  
Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000)  
Pharaoh's Servant 1 (1900/0)  
Pharaoh's Servant 2 (1900/0)

E-Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)

Jaden stared, "No way!"

"Oh man...!" Syrus hid under the top of the platform, "Not good!"

"Oh man is right...,"

Siho and Christina turned to see Banner, sitting up and petting Pharaoh.

"Now, those monsters have 300 more attack points that Sparkman," the teacher finished, "You have a right to worry, Syrus, because all that extra damage goes to Jaden!"

First, the two Pharaoh's Servants ran passed Sparkman and over to Jaden and skewered him with both spears, dealing a small chunk of damage, followed only by the two Pharaonic Protectors. Jaden yelled out as the painful energy rippled through his body.

"Sparkman may survive the battle, but Jaden still takes the damage," Alexis whispered, "Not good, because that's 300 points of damage for _each _of those Zombies!"

"For each one?!" Syrus looked up at her, "But that'll be like 1200 Life Points!"

**A: 1800  
J: 1900**

"There's more," Abidos smiled, "I still have Spirit of the Pharaoh himself! Now, attack!" he ordered.

The large undead Pharaoh bumrushed to Jaden's field and sliced into Sparkman with his sword, causing Jaden to feel more and more damage.

**A: 1800  
J: 1000**

"Now, I think I'll sacrifice one of my Pharaoh's Servants in order to activaet a Spell card known as Soul Guide," Abidos continued as one of his monsters disappeared, "It gives me Life Points equal to the attack points of the monster I lost, but it's about to get a whole lot better!"

**A: 3700  
J: 1000**

_For the love of Ra, just finish ya damn turn already!_ Christina snapped mentally, glaring at him.

"Soul Guide also lets me put a copy of the card I _just _sacrificed right back into my hand," Abidos watched as his card returned, then looked to Jaden, "And even though that Thousand Energy will certainly destroy my monsters, from how your Life Points will turn out, it will be worth it! My record shall stand!" he shouted as all his lower Level Zombies were blown to dust.

He looked at Jaden and frowned as he heard him giggle.

"What's so funny?" he asked slowly, "You know you're about to lose your soul...,"

Jaden grinned, "Not yet...,"

"Is that so?"

"That's right, and you're about to see why!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in attack mode!"

To everyone's surprise, Jaden's low attack monster appeared on the field, huge rocky fists at the ready.

"Then, I'll play this card," Jaden held up the last card in his hand, "It's called O - Oversoul, and boy is it sweet. I get to summon an Elemental Hero back from the Graveyard, and I think I know just the one! The Elemental Hero Avian!"

Making a reappearance, the green, feathered Hero appeared alongside Sparkman and Clayman, wings flapping proudly.

Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000)

E-Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)  
E-Hero Clayman (800/2000)  
E-Hero Avian (1000/1000)

Abidos scoffed, "So what? You have three _weak_ monsters, they can't be my Pharaoh! He'll take them apart one at a time,"

"Sorry, but he won't be getting the chance. See, Abidos, your three-card-combo was pretty sweet," Jaden said with a nod, "But I got a _four_ card one. H - Heated Heart, E - Emergency Call, R -Righteous Justice, and O - Oversoul. Together, they activate the one and only HERO Flash!!!"

Abidos glared at him, "Never heard of it...,"

"Well, you're never gonna forget it," Jaden laughed as his four Spell cards appeared in front of him, their letters taking up a few good spaces on the field, while Clayman, Sparkman, and Avian stood in front of H, E, and O.

"First, I get to Special Summon an Elemental Hero from my deck in attack mode...," he watched as his Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) joined her male companions in front of the hologram of R - Righteous Justice.

**(Author's note: The following fight is to be imagined in the form of anime chibi-ness, for that's how it is in the original version...but they cut it out of english dub. Why? Cuz they's stupid)**

"Well, waddya think?" Jaden asked, grinning widely, "Four Elemental Heroes...pretty great huh?"

Abidos scoffed, "Please..they're all weak, they have no chance of winning!"

"Oh c'mon! That's a real stupid way of thinking," Jaden shot back, "With any monster, you can't know how the end of the duel will play out until it actually comes,"

"_Stupid_?! Just who do you think you're talking to?! I'm an Egyptian Pharaoh!"

"So?" Jaden shrugged, "Pharaoh, commoner, it doesn't matter. Stupid is stupid,"

"The one who said 'stupid' is the one being stupid right now!" Abidos hissed.

"Oh, so now _I'm _the stupid one?"

Alexis sighed as the two carried about the argument, "From a Shadow Game to a really childish fight," she shook her head, "They're both stupid right now,"

Chazz nodded, "And we trust _him_ to fight with us for the Demons?" he muttered, nodding to Jaden.

**(Author's Note: and the chibi fight ish over. Sorry if it sucked)**

_Oh right...the duel_ Jaden regained his normal attitude, "Anyway, that's not all HERO Flash! does, Abidos. Now, all the Heroes on my field get to attack you directly!"

Abidos' eyes widened, "W-what?!"

"Now, Elemental Heroes, let's put a blemish on that perfect record of his!" Jaden ordered as his four E-Heroes began to glow brightly, "HERO Flash!"

The four Heroes soared at Abidos in the forms of colorful streams, that blew past the Spirit of the Pharaoh and rammed into Abidos, causing the Pharaoh to scream at the top of his lungs.

**A: 0  
J: 1000**

"And that's game!" Jaden gave his two finger salute, "Pretty good one too, Abidos, you got moves,"

Alexis nodded slightly, "Yeah, but not like Jaden's,"

"Big fat hairy deal," Chazz crossed his arms, looking sour, "Ojama Delta Hurricane does the _same_ thing,"

Syrus rolled his eyes and looked towards the beaten Shadow Rider, "Hey...guys? Abidos doesn't look so hot,"

"Wow, Syrus, didn't know you swung that way,"

The short Slifer glared at Siho, "That's not what I meant and you know it!" he snapped.

Jaden looked at Abidos, who was sitting quietly on his knees. Worried, he walked over to him, "Hey, Abidos, what's the matter?"

Abidos lifted his head and looked at Jaden, "I used to think I was the best duelist of all time, but I now know...that I need a _lot_ of practice to be a true dueling legend,"

"Hey, anytime!" Jaden nodded, "Anytime man, be happy to help!"

"How about now?" Abidos rose to his feet and took Jaden's hand, "Come back with me, Jaden. You're too good for this place. Come back with me to my kingdom and I can promise you power and fame,"

"I'll come!"

Christina and Alexis fell over as Siho jumped onto the platform, running over to them.

The black haired Slifer waved his arms wildly, "Power and fame, right here boyo!"

Jaden didn't even seem to notice Siho, "Sweet...that _is_ a nice offer,"

Syrus gawked at him in horror, "Jaden, don't do it!" he screamed.

"Sweet!" Chazz ran to the platform, a large smile on his face, "Now I'll get a new room!"

"CHAZZ!" Syrus and Christina shouted at him, "SHUT UP!"

As Siho hopped and down next to him and Abidos, Jaden rubbed the back of his head, "It sounds nice...but I think I'll stick around here. But hey, drop a line whenever you're in my 'hood, ok?"

Abidos nodded, "Same with you, that is if you can find a time-warping vortex wormhole...," he shook his head, "You know what, I'll just call you. Now...one more thing,"

"What's that?"

Abidos looked down at Siho who was holding him around his waist, "Would you mind...getting this idiot off me?!"

Christina hopped onto the platform, cracking her knuckles, "I got 'im,"

-----

After everyone made it off safely, they all watched as Abidos bid his final farewell before ascending into the sky. As the boat disappeared, everyone else decided to go seperate ways back home.

Vahn shook his head and clapped his hands, "Forget it, no more Shadow Games for me, I'm out ya'll...adios!"

While he walked Jordan home, Alexis and Zane walked with the others.

"You know...Abidos wasn't such a bad guy," Jaden twirled a thin, golden necklace around his finger, "I mean, look at what he gave me,"

Chazz growled, "Why is it Jaden gets all the cool stuff?"

Siho looked at him, "Don't you have a golden Shadow Charm from a band of thieves?" he reminded him.

"Chazz, I probably get all the free stuff because I defeated a _legend_!"

Chazz gawked at Jaden, "_LEGEND_?! He was a phony! He's a legend _now_ because _you _beat him?!"

Syrus shrugged, "That _is_ what all the history books say," he pointed out.

"Well, _we_ know the truth!" Chazz snapped, spinning on his heel and glaring at Syrus.

Zane and Alexis looked at each and exchanged a small smile.

"Jaden the Legend Slayer...," the Slifer nodded, "I like the sound of that!"

While the group walked off, Banner stood on a hill, watching them leave. He overheard what Jaden had said and nodded slowly.

"Good, Jaden, because soon, you will have the chance to truly earn it," he murmured, petting Pharaoh, "Soon, you will face your _true_ test,"

-----

Siho and Christina walked to the former's room, hoping to chill with a movie before heading off to bed. Christina had a nagging question she had been wanting to ask her best friend since they got off the boat of the Pharaoh duelist.

"Siho," Christina plopped down onto his mattress, "_Why_ did you glomp Abidos?" she asked, "Are you 'in-the-closet gay' or did you really wanna go?"

"Neither...,"

"Then _why_?"

The black haired Slifer closed his door and shook his blazer. Loud jingling was heard from inside the pockets, making Christina smile widely, "Oh, you son-of-a-thief...,"

Siho shrugged as he emptied his pockets, showing pieces of golden jewelry and gems, "Hey, that's what he gets for wearing a _lot_ of gold stuff, right? It was kinda hard getting some of that off, because it was all linked together," he stuffed the gold and gems into a desk drawer and slammed it shut, "We'll divvy it up later,"

As he looked through his movie collection, Siho placed a golden ring on his right hand and pocketed a couple more inside his pocket.

"_Mwt, shukran_,"

"What the hell did you just say?"

Siho looked over his shoulder, "Nothing...," he grinned, "Now, what movie ya wanna watch?"

-----

"Two of us Cocytus have fallen, and five Shadow Riders are defeated. There's only two on each side left, Boss-man,"

"It doesn't matter, my friend. We'll avenge our comrades very soon. You have a target in mind before we go after the punk that took down Caina?"

"Hehehe...yeah...yeah I do,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Ok, some messed up stuff here...hehehe. What's goin' on? I dunno, but ya gotta wait to find out.**

**Up next, another Cocytus duel! Who will face the third member? Stay tuned!**


	59. Cocytus: Dragonlord Ptolomea Part One

**Cocytus: Dragonlord Ptolomea Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Khamille stepped out of the shower, dressed in her uniform as she dried her ebony hair with a towel. The move to the Slifer dorm was a bit unexpected, she'll admit, but it was nothing that she would object to. Having Christina and Kairi as roommates was interesting.

Christina would litter the room with hundreds of Duel Monsters cards and constantly goof around, all hyperactive with sugar.

Kairi, on the other hand, was still mad at her about her deception. But, Khamille was on her way of making it up to her. She had a good plan on how to win her back, but first...lunch.

As she entered the mess hall, she noticed a large stack of pizza boxes sitting on a table where Kairi, Siho, and Christina were munching away.

"Where the hell did you guys get pizza?"

"Banner," they said altogether with mouthfuls of food.

Siho gulped down his slice, "He has a _huge _stock of pizza in his room, so as a treat for the Slifers, he's lettin' us have half of the horde,"

Khamille gawked at the stack of pizzas, "He has _more_ than _that_?" she asked slowly, pointing to the boxes, "Holy crap...,"

She took a seat and reached for some cheese pizza, but was thwarted when Christina snatched the box away.

"NINJA PIZZA!"

Khamille and Kairi looked at her while Siho continued to snack, "Ninja Pizza...?"

"Pizza that vanish quickly without trace," both Siho and Christina chirped at once.

"Where'd you get that?"

Christina slowly pulled a piece of the cheesy pie away, leaving a long, hanging trail of gooey cheese between her mouth and the slice, "_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze_,"

Khamille slowly turned to Siho, "She watches way too many movies, don't she?"

"Just a little,"

-----

"Been waiting for weeks for my shot against this kid...,"

"Relax. Today's the day, my friend,"

"You serious?"

"O'course. I'm always serious in matters like this,"

"Kickass! Wait, what if she don't wanna duel?"

"Then do what ya gotta do...to get her to duel. If she's anything like the punk, this will be a fun duel for you,"

-----

Christina yawned as she, Siho, Khamille, Jordan, and Kairi sat around in an empty duel arena. After having their lunch, the Slifers met up with the Ra and decided to get him out and active, that they'd bring him along with them, hoping to show him a fun time. But unfortunately...

"If this is a good time, I'd hate to see what a _bad_ time is,"

"Mhm...got that right, Kham,"

"I'm so friggin' bored,"

"_Great_ plan, Chrissy,"

Christina slugged Siho in the shoulder, "Shaddup, I didn't know it was gonna be an off-day. Anyone got any plans?"

Everyone else looked at one another, shrugged, then turned back to Christina, silent.

She sighed and leaned her head back, "Well...anyone care for a hike?"

"A hike?"

"Through the mountains?"

"Through the forest?"

"_Exercise?!_"

Christina rolled her eyes and jumped to her feet, "Ok, not a hike, but an adventure?" she offered, "Look, we haven't heard anything from those Cocytus weirdoes, or Shadow Riders, so this is our free time! Remember what Banner said about a well being in the forest full of cards? What if there were _other_ places with that kinda treasure?"

Siho nodded slowly, "May be fun to boost my deck...,"

Khamille and Kairi shrugged, "Meh,"

"C'mon guys!" Christina whined, "It'll be just like _The Goonies_!"

Siho raised his hand, "Can I be Corey Feldman?"

"Pfft, _hell_ no!" Christina scoffed, "_I'm_ Corey Feldman!"

"But you're _always_ Corey Feldman!" Siho argued, "Besides, you're a chick!"

"Shut up!" she snapped, glaring at him, "From now on, your name is Chunk!"

Kairi rose from her seat, "Can I be River Phoenix?" she asked hopefully.

Christina shook her head, "River Phoenix wasn't in _The Goonies_,"

"What was the movie where they all went to find a dead body?"

"That's _Stand by Me_, Kairi,"

"Oh...," Kairi stood there for a few moments, "Hey, guys, can we go find a dead body?"

Christina clapped her hands and began to head towards the exit, "Sounds like a plan! Onward Goonies!"

**(Author's Note: I'd just like to thank LittleKuriboh and his Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged Series for this...I couldn't resist it for some reason.)**

Khamille, Jordan, and Siho watched as Kairi and Christina marched towards the exit, thinking the same thing...

_What's the worst that can happen?_

-----

"God, I hate this...,"

"I blame myself,"

"I blame you too, Christina,"

"I blame you all!"

The group of students were hanging upside down, ropes tied around their ankles. They had been going through the woods just a short while before, looking for another hidden cache of cards that people may have tossed, when Christina noticed a cave at the base of the volcano.

They ventured inward and just moments after, something noxious knocked them out. When they woke up, they found themselves hanging upside down in a large room carved out of the rocky volcano.

"Dude...my blood's rushin' to my head...," Jordan mumbled, his face turning red.

Christina twisted around, "Siho! Can't you get down and help us?!" she asked, trying not to become too dizzy.

"I would if I could, but I'm kinda tied up at the moment...if you'll forgive the pun," he twisted around to show that his wrists were bound tight.

"Dammit...," Christina let her arms hang again, and looked around, "HELLO?! ANYONE ELSE HERE?!"

Kairi winced as the echo filled the room, "Tone it down, Christina! For the love of God, shut be quiet for a sec!"

"I can't! What if a family of homicidal cannibals comes in and tries to eat us after carving us up with chainsaws?!"

"Christina, I swear to God, I'm gonna have your folks ban you from movies!"

Christina was about to say something when she suddenly fell to the floor, landing on her head. Stars filled her vision as a large ache ripped through her skull.

"You kids talk too much...,"

Everyone else turned their heads to the side to see a very large man standing a short distance away, his face covered by shadow. From what they could see, he had large muscules, big arms and a black duel disk with a large C and a number 3 on it.

Siho squinted through the dark cave and saw a purple light around his neck. His eyes widened, "CHRISSY! WATCH OUT, THIS GUY'S COCYTUS!" he screamed.

Christina shook her head, "You serious?" she asked, holding her sore skull, "I guess that means we gotta problem,"

"I'd say that ya do...," the large man stepped forward, and all around them, torches that were hidden by shadows were lit up, showing his face. The man had a hard, mature face with an eyepatch of his left eye. He had buzzed black hair, and stubble growing around the bottom of his face. He wore dark brown pants and a large, matching vest that was unbuttoned, showing off his six-pack.

Christina whistled, "Big boy, ain't ya?" she looked him over, "So, this is the next Cocytus guy...doesn't look too bad. Tell me, big fella, you duel pretty good?"

"I've been known to duel _very_ well, if you must know, young one," the one-eyed giant replied in a gravelly voice.

"Young one?" Christina laughed, "Man...that's something ya don't hear everyday,"

"Christina, stop the chatter and get the hell outta here!" Siho yelled at her, "Go find Jaden or somebody!".

The giant shook his head, "No. None of you shall leave this place unless the Amazon wins this duel,"

"Amazon?" Christina put her hands on her hips, "How'd you know I used Amazons?" she asked quickly.

"Our sources do not give us false information," the giant stepped back and held up a deck, "Now, let's go...give me a good duel!"

_This guys nuts, but..._ she glanced up at her hanging friends, _I don't think I have much of a choice. I don't know what these Cocytus guys want, but I'll show them not to mess with me..._

"Uh...," Christina looked around, "I don't have a duel disk,"

_TWHACK_

"OW!" the Slifer brunette yelped as a duel disk collided with her face. She pulled her hand away from her face and saw blood staining her hand, "Oh...you sonofa-,"

"Hold your tongue and get your deck out, Amazon," the giant snapped, "I'm the 3rd member of Cocytus Squad. Ptolomea!" he pointed to Christina, "I'm here to challenge you to a duel of strength and honor, young one...do not disappoint me!"

Christina glared at him as she donned her duel disk, blood trickling down her front, little by little, _This asshole's goin' down!_

Their disks whirred to life and they drew their opening hands.

"Let's duel!"

**P: 4000  
C: 4000**

"Experienced before whelps," Ptolomea drew his card, "I play Polymerization to fuse both my Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) and my Divine Dragon-Ragnarok (1500/1000) to summon King Dragun (2400/1100)!"

_Oh great...flashback to Chazz's duel with his brother_ Christina thought as the large, glowing Dragon came to the field, _Well, luckily for me, I know how to handle dragons like this..._

"Now, I shall use King Dragun's effect to Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand to call upon the Rare Metal Dragon (2400/1200)!"

Christina stared as a large, portly dragon appeared on the field, it's shiny black scales reflecting the torchlight around them, "Rare Metal Dragon?" she repeated.

Ptolomea nodded, "This is a Level 4 monster, but it _cannot_ be summoned by normal means. Luckily, with King Dragun's effect, I can bring him out no problem. But I'm not done," he placed another card on the field, "I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode,"

"Oh, that's bullcrap!" Christina glared at him, "You can't do that, that's already three summons!"

The one-eyed giant nodded, "Yes. _Two_ of them were Special Summoned, by effect of a Spell card and a monster's effect. Now, I just Normal Summoned a monster, making this perfectly legal," he explained, "Luckily for you, I end my turn," he waved the only card in his hand now, "I hope you get something...otherwise, this will be _very_ disappointing,"

Christina drew her card, "You think you got some good stuff goin' for ya, big boy?" she grinned, "I summon Amazoness Tiger (1100/1500) in attack mode," she nodded happily as a large tiger with a scar over it's right eye appeared, roaring, "Thank you, Tanya,"

"Tanya?!" Siho stared at her in shock, "She _gave_ you that card?!"

"That and so much more to power up my deck, Siho," she giggled as she slipped a card into her disk, "Next, I play a Spell card known as Ties of the Brethren! By sacrificng 1000 Life Points, I can Special Summon 2 Level 4 monsters from my deck,"

**P: 4000  
C: 3000**

"Now, with this card's effect," she took out and slapped two cards onto her disk, "I summon Amazoness Paladin (1700/300) and Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) in attack mode," she paused while her sword-wielding warriors appeared beside the tiger, "That's not all! Both Paladin's and Tiger's effects kick in! For Paladin, she gains 100 attack points for _every_ monster on the field with Amazoness in it's name, including herself!"

Amazoness Paladin (2000/300)

"Next, Amazoness Tiger gains 400 attack points for the same reason, and it _also_ applies to herself,"

Amazoness Tiger (2300/1500)

"Next, I'll place two cards facedown, and end my turn,"

Ptolomea drew his card, "I activate my King Dragun's ability again to summon forth Kaiser Glider (2400/2200) in attack mode,"

Christina growled as a metallic looking dragon with an impressive pair of wings appeared, joining it's kin's side, while she only had three Amazon monsters on her side, barely strong enough to take one of them down.

King Dragun (2400/1100)  
Luster Dragon (1900/1600)  
Rare Metal Dragon (2400/1200)  
Kaiser Glider (2400/2200)

Amazoness Paladin (2000/300)  
Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)  
Amazoness Tiger (2300/1500)

Ptolomea pointed to the Tiger, "King Dragun, take down that Tiger!" he ordered, "Fire Scourge!"

The glowing dragon roared and fired a stream of bright fiery energy at the Tiger.

"I don't think so!" Christina pressed a button on her disk, "I play Rush Recklessly! This is a Quick-Spell card that boosts one of my monsters attack points by 700!"

Amazoness Tiger (3000/1500)

"Amazoness Tiger, counter-attack with Fang Frenzy!"

The scarred Tiger roared and swerved in and out of the line of fire from the blast of the Dragon monster. As soon as it got close enough, it leapt at the beast and tackled it, it's mighty jaws ripping out scales and flesh before it exploded.

Ptolomea growled as his monster was destroyed due to a counter-move.

**P: 3400  
C: 3000**

Christina smiled, "I'd end your turn if I were you...as long as my Tiger's out, you can only attack it, and during this turn, Rush Recklessly gives my Tiger a nice boost,"

Letting out a deep breath, Ptolomea nodded, "I'll end my turn by switching all my monsters, except for Kaiser Glider into defense mode,"

_Wow...Chrissy's definitely gotten better_ Siho watched his friend hold her own while he fumbled with the ropes around his arms, _Then again, just because she took out **one** Dragon, doesn't mean she can do it again._

Christina drew her card, "I summon Amazon Archer (1400/1000) in attack mode, and you know what that means? Both Paladin and Tiger gains more power!"

Amazoness Paladin (2100/300)  
Amazoness Tiger (2700/1500)  
Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)  
Amazon Archer (1400/1000)

"Now, Amazoness Tiger, attack and destroy Kaiser Glider! Fang Frenzy!"

**P: 3100  
C: 3000**

Once again, Ptolomea watched as one of his faithful beasts were destroyed by the giant furball, but smiled, "Thank you...,"

"Huh?"

Ptolomea chuckled, and pointed to the Tiger, "Whenever Kaiser Glider is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can choose one monster on your field to be returned your hand...so guess which one?"

_Kuso..._ Christina glared as not only her Tiger returned to her, but her Paladin was powered-down because of it.

Amazoness Paladin (2000/300)  
Amazon Archer (1400/1000)  
Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)

"So what, I still got some power! I'll attack and destroy that Luster Dragon with my Paladin," Christina pointed to the defensive monster, "Go for it!"

The female warrior rushed and sliced through the Dragon like it was melted butter, sending it straight to the Graveyard.

"Now, Amazoness Swordswoman, destroy that Rare Metal Dragon with Amazon Slash!"

The second warrioress with a wicked blade cleaved the Dragon in half, sending it to the Grave as well.

"Next up, I'll attack you directly with Amazon Archer!"

**P: 1700  
C: 3000**

"WHOO!" Siho shouted, "Go Christina, kick this guys one-eyed ass!"

Christina giggled, "Plan to do just that, Siho...finally, I'll play my Archer's effect. I sacrifice my Swordswoman and my Paladin to deal you 1200 more points of direct damage!"

**P: 500  
C: 3000**

Ptolomea fell over onto his ass while Christina's captive friends cheered her on...but she didn't seem to hear any of it. She stared hard at Ptolomea, eyes focused on the giant duelist.

_If he's Cocytus, a member of the another group of Shadow Riders, he should've played an awesome move by now, but he didn't. Either this guy **really** sucks...or he's waiting for something._

"You've got the spirit of a warrior...of a Dragon-Slayer to be more precise," Ptolomea groaned, climbing to his feet from the attack, "Tanya really gave you some pointers,"

"That, and a buncha new cards to kick some major ass with," Christina's eyes never left his lone eye, "As you've just seen,"

Ptolomea drew his card and a wicked smile crossed his face, "If that's the best you got, Young One...then you'll fall here this day,"

"Waddya mean?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The giant's shoulders shook as he slipped a card into his disk and a large silver and gold mirror came to the field, "I play the Spell card, Dragon's Mirror! With this, I can take any Dragon monsters from my field, or my Graveyard and if they can be used in a Fusion Summon, I can call upon the Fusion creature himself!"

Christina shook her head, "It won't do ya any good to be back King Dragun. I'll just kick his ass all over again,"

Again, he chuckled, "The creature that I shall call forth...is _far_ more powerful than that King. I remove from my Graveyard and from play, my Divine Dragon-Ragnarok, my Luster Dragon, my Rare Metal Dragon, my King Dragun, and my Kaiser Glider in order to summon...,"

The monsters appeared briefly only to disappear in a flash as the large cave began to shake violently. Ptolomea folded his arms as a _gigantic_ creature appeared behind him, it's multiple heads snaking over one another.

The captive duelists stared in both shock and horror while Christina fell to her knees.

"Young Amazon..._this_ beast...is known as the Five-Headed Dragon (5000/5000)!!!"

Christina looked up at the huge monstrosity, taking in the five different heads, each symbolizing one of the attributes of Duel Monster cards. Her eyes went wide and she could actually feel her heart skip a few beats.

"Mother...of God...,"

"Five-Headed Dragon!" Ptolomea pointed to the Amazon Archer, "Attack and destroy the warrior maiden!"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Holy (bleep)! Christina may have started off, kicking it to Ptolomea with her improved Amazon deck, but now with a monster of that size and power on the field...does she even stand a chance to beat him and find out what Cocytus is after?! Stay tuned to find out!**

**Hope this was good, btw...**


	60. Cocytus: Dragonlord Ptolomea Part Two

**Cocytus: Dragonlord Ptolomea Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Previously, on GX: Heroes...with Chrissy as their leader, her friends followed her into the mountains on an adventure to find some caches of old cards. However, they didn't find any cards...what they found, was Ptolomea, the third member of the Cocytus Squad. He was a huge man with a single eye, and a deck filled with Dragons._**

**_While he and Christina seemed to match things up in battle and moves for a few times, Christina gained the upperhand. However, even though Ptolomea had only 500 Life Points left, he managed to conjure a Dragon like the kids had never seen. The Five Headed Dragon monster with stats of 5000 attack and defense points._**

**_Can Christina survive the onslaught, or will she succumb to the giant's power?_**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Five Headed Dragon (5000/5000), attack and destroy that warrior maiden!"

Christina watched as the five heads reared back and fired off a stream of immense power at the Amazon Archer. The screams of her friends were drowned out as the powerful streams flew towards the monster. Suddenly, a strange spear appeared in the Amazons arms just before the blast wiped her away from the field.

Ptolomea frowned as his monster's attack stopped, then watched as Christina hold her chest, panting heavily. The girl was still standing.

**P: 500  
C: 4400**

"You had a Trap card down...,"

The Slifer girl snickered loudly, "Enchanted Javelin. Takes your monsters attack points, and adds them to my Life Points, which saved my ass when you killed off my Archer," she panted, "I'm still here, big boy...still here!"

Ptolomea chuckled, "Indeed...it's your turn now,"

_Oh great..._ Christina drew her card, _I gotta stall him long enough I draw a good thing, or a miracle_ she inserted a card into her disk, "I play Swords of Revealing Light!" she cried out as a mass group of glowing swords surrounded the Five Headed Dragon, stopping it, "For three turns, you cannot attack!"

_That was close..._ she looked at her hand, _I don't have much here...but maybe I can get **something** to keep this up._

"I summon Dark Blade (1800/1500) in attack mode, then I'll equip Pitch-Dark Dragon (900/600) to him," she declared, slipping the Union monster into the slot underneath her black armored warrior.

Khamille tilted her head...or at least tried to, "Why'd she do that?"

"You call yourself a former Obelisk," Siho went limp, looking at the duel, "As a Union monster, Pitch-Dark Dragon, which is also used as an Equip card, can boost the power of Dark Blade by a small amount, but for Chrissy, it might be enough,"

Dark Blade (2200/1900)

"End my turn,"

Ptolomea drew his card, "I play Card of Sanctity, letting us both draw until we have six cards in our hands,"

As Christina drew her cards, her eyes went wide, _Whoa..._

-Flashback-

_"Dad...what cards are better, Warriors or Dragons?"_

_Christina leaned against her father, who was looking through a thick book with yellow tinted pages. Her father smiled and adjusted his glasses, "It depends on the user, Christina. I think that Dragons are meant to be slain by the Warriors, but sometimes they can be used together for a stronger power,"_

_"Like Dark Blade and his dragons?"_

_"Right," he nodded, flipping a page, "Just like that, or fusing some together to create a monster of immense power. You know what the Dragon Master Knight is?"_

_"Monster that needs Black Luster Soldier and Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to be created...but there's only two people in the world who can pull that off, and that's Yugi and Kaiba,"_

_"Right," he nodded again, "But I bet you didn't know that there were special cards that can be attached to a Warrior that can slay a Dragon, even though it has far more attack points,"_

_Christina shook her head, "No...no I didn't. You know what it's called?"_

_"Sorry, kiddo, but I only know the stories. I've looked for it myself...but never found it. Doubt it exists,"_

_-///-_

_"There," Tanya handed Christina her deck back, "Now, you're stronger than ever, sister. You'll give honor to the name of Amazon,"_

_Christina looked through her deck and stopped at a card. She took it out and turned it over, "What the heck? Why'd you give me this?"_

_Tanya looked at her calmly, then sat down and pet Bass, "Kid, listen. Despite what's going on here, you and I are a kindred spirit. We Amazons are supposed to stick together...,"_

_"I'm...not really an Amazon though, I just use Warrior cards,"_

_"But you have the soul and spirit of the warrior women!" Tanya pointed out, scratching behind Bass' ears, "I know what hunts the others here...and normally I would stay and just watch. But I won't toss my Amazon sister to the wolves. Keep that card, you'll need it,"_

_"For what?"_

_"You'll know when the time comes, Christina...you'll know when the time comes,"_

-End Flashback-

"Now, I shall play a Spell card known as Stamping Destruction!" Ptolomea inserted a card into his disk, "With this card, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field, and I can deal you 500 points of damage!" he pointed to the Swords, "Kiss 'em goodbye,"

Christina gulped as her Swords were destroyed earlier than she had hoped, _C'mon...hang in there_

**P: 500  
C: 3900**

"Five Headed Dragon, since you're free of the Swords hold on you, attack Dark Blade and destroy him!"

Khamille, Kairi and Jordan looked away as the Five Headed behemoth fired off again, this time, the attack hit it's mark. The cave filled with a noxius smoke as the Dragon roared in victory. Ptolomea nodded as the smoke wafted around him, "As you can see, Young One, nothing can stand up against my beast,"

"Hehehehehehehehe...,"

"Hm?" the giant peered through the smoke to see Christina standing there holding up the V sign with her fingers...and that her Dark Blade was still intact! He stared in surprise, "How did you...you had no facedowns!"

She shrugged, "True...true...but here's the thing," she held up her Pitch-Dark Dragon card, "While he is equipped to Dark Blade, not only does it serve as a power booster, but when Dark Blade is attacked by a stronger monster, Pitch-Dark Dragon is destroyed instead," she shrugged, "Plus, no damage to me at all,"

Dark Blade (1800/1500)

**P: 500  
C: 3900**

"Now, I'll play Dragon's Gunfire!" Ptolomea inserted another card into his disk, "With this card, I deal you 800 points of damage! Just try and dodge this!" he snapped as one of his Dragon's heads fired off a huge fireball at Christina.

The ball of fire hit her hard in the chest, knocking her to the ground, her body smoking.

"Holy crap!" Jordan stared, "He actually knocked her down!"

**P: 500  
C: 3100**

Christina lay there, the front of her uniform smoking as if it were really burnt...her dried blood from her nose plastered over the bottom of her face. It had dried long ago, but chances were that she forget all about it.

_C'mon, Christina, get up! Get up! _Siho pleaded, staring at the unmoving form of his best friend, _Please get up..._

"She's down...for good?"

The captive students turned their heads to Ptolomea, who shook his head, looking disappointed.

"That's a shame. From what I heard about you guys, I was hoping for a bigger challenge," he sighed and looked at Jordan, "The one who beat Antenora and her Aliens...," his eyes moved to Siho, "The one who put down Caina...," he then looked at Christina's body, "And the one who fell by my hand...shame,"

He reached over and was about to turn off his duel disk when he heard coughing. Ptolomea looked up to see Christina slowly rising to her feet, tossing the burnt top of her uniform away, showing a tight, black shirt with cutoff sleeves.

She turned, panting and coughing as she glared at Ptolomea, "I'm...not...," she let out another cough, "...finished with you yet, you asshole," she raised her hand and made a waving gesture to him, "Step up, you ugly sonofabitch,"

Ptolomea looked at her and chuckled, "Good...," he looked at the four cards left in his hand, "I'll end my turn there," he looked at her, "Fight all you want, all it'd do is entertain me. Nothing you have can defeat my dragon," he looked up at the hydra, "Not only does it have an immense amount of power, but it can only be destroyed by _one_ type of monster,"

"Just what type is _that_?" Christina asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"Every other Attribute monster, save the Light monsters, cannot destroy the Five-Headed Dragon in battle, and it cannot take any battle damage!" he laughed loudly, "Face it, Amazon...it's just entertainment for me...you have no hope for winning,"

_He's right..._ Siho glanced at his friend, _As much as I'd hate to say it, Chrissy doesn't have any monsters in her deck that can withstand, or take down that thing's firepower! It's just a matter of time before she's beaten. Maybe, if she puts up a good defense, she'll go down with dignity._

"My draw," Christina drew her card, "First off, I play the Ritual Spell card known as Hamburger Recipe! By sacrificing my Amazoness Tiger (1100/1500) and Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) from my hand, I summon my Hungry Burger (2000/1850) in attack mode,"

Ptolomea shook his head, an amused look on his face as the rabid looking burger appeared, "Won't make much of a difference...,"

"Maybe, maybe not," Christina slipped a card into her disk and her Hungry Burger transformed into a hamburger with silvery fangs and jagged points sticking out of it's buns, "I play Ritual Weapon and equip it to the Burger, raising it's attack and defense points by 1500!"

Dark Blade (1800/1500)  
Hungry Burger (3500/3350)

She looked at her last two cards, _Maybe I'm goin' overboard with this, but that's what he gets with a cocky attitude like that... _she slipped another card into her disk and a large, jagged sword appeared in Dark Blade's hand, "I play this Equip card, which raises my Dark Blade's power by 700 points!"

Dark Blade (2500/1500)  
Hungry Burger (3500/3350)

"Dark Blade, attack Five Headed Dragon with Dark Dragon Cut!"

_WHAT?! _Siho, Khamille, Kairi and Jordan watched, astounded at the order.

Ptolomea reared his head back and laughed, "Fool...I said it wouldn't matter! Five Headed Dragon, counter attack with Omni-Dragon Blast!"

The mighty Dragon roared and fired off five seperate beams of energy onto Dark Blade. The dark armored Warrior let out a battle cry and tossed it's jagged new weapon into the oncoming attack before he became engulfed. Christina was hit with the leftover power and flew back all the way across the cave, rolling as she went.

**P: 500  
C: 600**

Sighing, Ptolomea put his hands on his hips, shaking his head, "Amazon, I _told_ you. No monster you have can take down my Dragon. Why you even attacked me, other than wanting to commit Duel Monsters suicide is beyond me,"

Christina let out a laugh as she rose back to full height, holding her right arm. Underneath her dried bloodstains, a small smile was seen.

"Got that right...no _monster_ I have can destroy that," she smirked wider, "But what about a weapon made _specifically_ to destroy Dragons?".

"What?" Ptolomea turned around and his eye widened. There, in the heart of his almighty hydra, the jagged sword that Dark Blade had tossed was lodged deeply between scales. He watched in silent shock as his Dragon roared in pain, then fell over, all of it's heads going limp before blowing into a huge cloud of smoke.

Slowly, he turned and glared at her, "How...the _hell_ did you do that?" he snarled, "Your monster was weaker...it wasn't a Light-Attribute monster, so how the hell did you do it?!"

Christina sniffed as fresh blood came out again, "It was the Equip card I played with Dark Blade. If there's one thing you should know, is that as long as Dragon's exist, any and all kinds of warriors will forge weapons that will be able to slay the lizards. Luckily for me...," she wiped the fresh blood away, smearing it on her flesh, "I got one as a gift. That sword I used? It's called Sword of Dragon's Soul. Not only does it power up a Warrior-Type monster's attack by 700 points, but when a Warrior equipped with it does battle with a Dragon, and even if it loses, the Dragon gets destroyed,"

"No!" Ptolomea stepped back, a horrified look on his face, "It can't be! My Five-Headed Dragon is unstoppable!"

"I...don't think so, pal," Christina glanced at her metal burger, "Hungry Burger...finish him off!" she hissed.

The mutant metal piece of cow screeched and tackled the one-eyed giant, it's metal fangs digging into his body.

**P: 0  
C: 600**

Christina snorted as her opponent screamed at the top of his lungs, then walked over to her friends. She looked up at Siho, "Need help?"

He stared at her, still amazed at what he had just seen, "Uh...sure...,"

As the brunette Slifer began to try and cut Siho down, Khamille looked at her, looking confused.

"Chrissy...if that card could be used on any Warrior-Type, why didn't you use it on Hungry Burger?" she asked, "Would've helped you keep more Life Points,"

Christina paused in her friends aid and looked over her shoulder, "_They say he is a Dragon manipulating warrior from the Dark World. His attack is tremendous, using his great swords with vicious power_,"

"Uh...," Khamille blinked as Siho fell onto his back, "What?"

Her friend/roommate looked at her, a very serious look on her face, "There are only three Warriors in Duel Monsters that should have the Sword of Dragon's Soul: Buster Blader, Gearfried the Swordmaster, and Dark Blade. I only have _one_ of those monsters," she walked over and began to pull at her bonds, "Hungry Burger is just a mutant Warrior. Dark Blade is a true swordsman of Dragons...it's his, and for now, only his,"

While Christina began to get the others down, Siho walked over to the weakened body of Ptolomea and planted his foot onto the man's neck, putting a little pressure on it. Ptolomea looked up at him and smiled slightly.

Siho scowled, "Who...the hell are you people, and what the hell do you want?!" he snapped.

The giant's smile grew and he lifted his head a little, despite Siho's foot on his throat, "...vengeance, fun, and...," he reached into his vest and pulled out the glowing necklace, the one that was so much like Antenora's and Caina's, "The revival...,"

"Revival, _what_ revival?"

But before he could say anymore, Ptolomea passed out, severely weakened after the duel.

_Oh no...you're not getting off **that** easy!_ Siho glared at him.

-----

"Are you _crazy_?!"

Siho turned to Khamille, who was just closing the door to his room behind him, "Yeah, Khamille, I'm crazy, ok? A loony, ok?"

Khamille shook her head and glanced at the unmoving form of Ptolomea, who lay peacefully on the hardwood floor of Siho's dorm room, "But...but _why_? He's one of the bad guys?"

"Why? _WHY_?" Siho threw his hands up in the air, "Oh, I dunno, I think I wanted to redecorate, ya know? A few new posters, a new coat of paint...," he kicked Ptolomea's oversized shin, "An unconcious Cocytus member as a rug? I just thought it'd _really_ lighten the room!"

He looked around, "Where's Kairi and Christina? They walk Jordan home?"

"No...Chrissy had to talk with Banner about something, and Kairi's off by herself,"

-----

"Professor Banner, I dunno about this...," Christina rubbed her eyes, tired after the long hike from the mountains, carrying Ptolomea with the others, "_You_ were the one who volunteered!"

Banner nodded, "That is true, but Christina, I feel that you stand a better chance of fulfilling this job than me," he tapped a folder on his desk, "I've been looking through your grades, and you are Siho are close to the highest grades in Slifer Red,"

"I know for a fact that grades don't matter here,"

"True," the Slifer head nodded again, "But it also takes skill, and I know that you have great potential. So, please," Banner removed his Spirit Gate Key from his hand and held it out to Christina, "Do me this favor...please,"

Christina looked at the Spirit Key, than at her Professor. Something in his eyes told her that he really needed this favor done for him, and if he believed in her to protect it like Jaden and the others...then well, how could she refuse?

"Fine...," Christina snatched the Key away and tied it around her neck, hiding it into her shirt.

"Thank you," Banner said relieved, then nodded to her, "By the way...what on earth happened to your face? Did you get punched in the nose?"

She made a goofy smile and held a hand to her nose, "Aw...just some jerk who thought he could beat me in a fight. No biggy,"

-----

Kairi walked through the woods, her hands in her pockets. She had come through this path many times before, but this time was different. The sun was setting and the sky was already very darkened by stormclouds. She would have to head back to the Slifer Red dorm, but first, she had to pay respects.

She stopped in her tracks and stared at the Abandoned Dorm that stood just yards away. This was the place where she first met Jordan, Christina, and Siho. She had taken the Ra and the Slifer girl hostage and challenged Siho to a false Shadow Game...then lost. It was also the place where she lost her father, the man that taught her to duel and the one who gave her some great cards when she started out.

"Father...," a tear rolled down her cheek as thunder boomed above her, "I miss you so much,"

She was about to turn and leave when she felt a presence behind her. Large arms came into her view and pulled her close into an embrace. Kairi's eyes widened...she recognized these arms, this embrace.

Her voice was already cracking and her mouth was barely opened, "F-father?"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Whew. I hope I did this chapter ok...I wasn't sure on how long to make the duel without flashbacks and...hehehe...well, let's just say I wanted to give the people what they wanted. A way to beat the FGD or FHD without a strong monster. As I said, hope this was good, so ja ne, ya'll!**


	61. Family Pains

**Family Pains**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Thick stormclouds hovered above Duel Academy, keeping the sunlight from poking through anywhere. Most of the students stayed in their dorms, not wanting to risk anything like being struck by lightning...but two of them in particular stayed together at the bedside of Atticus.

Alexis and Jordan sat side-by-side at the bedside, watching Atticus rest. Alexis looked at her brother, _Only two Shadow Riders left, and victory **finally** seems near. But, it'd be so much more if Atticus were actually here with me and Jordy...like back when we were little._

-Flashback-

_"Alexis...Alexis...,"_

_"Lexi!"_

_Alexis looked up from her Duel Monsters deck to see Jordan and Atticus peeking around the large tree she was sitting in front of. The two boys were still wearing their school uniforms, same as her with her uniform._

_"Atty! Jordy!"_

_Jordan ran over to her and hugged her around the neck, "Hiya, Lexi! Atty got me some cool cards today!"_

_"Oh really?"_

_"Yep!" Jordan held up his own deck, "Wanna see?"_

_Atticus smiled at his cousin as he walked up to his baby sister, "Watcha doing, anyway, Alexis?"_

_He reached out and took the cards she was looking at, then whistled at what he saw, "Wow...some tough cards. But, dueling's about more than power...,"_

_"What?" Alexis looked away sheepishly, "What do you mean, bro?"_

_"Yeah, waddya mean?" Jordan asked, looking up from his own cards as a small leaf floated down onto Alexis' golden blonde hair._

_Atticus reached over and plucked the leaf out of his sister's hair, "What I mean is that you gotta have a purpose for dueling, guys. That's what **really** matters in a match,"_

_"Okay!" Alexis smiled widely, "Thanks, Atty!"_

_Jordan tilted his head, "I don' get it...,"_

_Atticus laughed and ruffled his cousins hair, "You'll learn someday. Just learn that, and you two will be **great** duelists one day!"_

-End Flashback-

"You both miss him _so_ dearly. But there is a way to get him back...,"

Alexis' eyes snapped wide open at a dark voice then came from behind her and Jordan, who leapt up and stepped protectively in front of her and Atticus.

"Who is that...?" she whispered.

"I dunno, but it's not too friendly by the sound of it," Jordan hissed, eyes darting back and forth.

A large wisp of dark flames appeared in front of them and the voice returned.

"Come with me...and I'll give Atticus back _all_ his memories. If you can defeat me in a duel that is," the voice proposed as the black flames flicked around the room, "Back where we first met...the Abandoned Dorm!"

Atticus slowly opened his eyes and he watched in horror as a large being in a black coat appeared, wrapping both of his arms around Jordan and Alexis, dragging them into a dark portal.

He slowly rose, staring at the now closing portal and his vanishing family members, eyes wide.

"W-what's...going on?" he stammered as the portal sealed shut, "Who was that?"

-----

Jaden slowly opened his eyes, hearing the call of Winged Kuriboh, who was floating right by his head.

"No...Kuriboh, no wakey...must sleep," he mumbled, fighting to go back to sleep as his partner hooted wildly.

As Jaden began to close his eyes, a loud knocking on his dorm room door woke the other two Slifer's up. Chumley yawned and climbed down from his bunk, an irritated look on his already very tired face.

"Alright, alright, just a second!" he snapped as the knocking continued. He walked to the door and pulled it open, only to scream at the sight of a pale, zombie face that moaned loudly.

"STAY BACK!" Chumley shouted, backing away from the door.

Jaden looked away, horrified at the face while Syrus flinched.

"What's with you?!" the smaller Slifer asked the 'zombie'.

Chazz glared at him as the Ojama Brothers hovered around his head, "Couldn't sleep because of the news I just heard," he muttered, glaring at the trio.

Jaden sat up, "What's up?"

"I see ya'll heard, too,"

"What da hell, man?"

Chazz moved out of the doorway to let Siho and Khamille enter the dorm, rubbing their eyes, annoyed.

"You too, Siho?" Jaden asked, climbing out of bed.

Siho nodded and glanced at the Vampire Lord hovering nearby, "Yep...,"

Khamille shrugged, "I dunno what's going on, really. I woke up, having this really bad feeling tonight. I tried talking to the others, but Chrissy's out like a light, and Kairi's not in her bed," she folded her arms across her chest, "I don't think she's been in the room all night,"

Jaden turned to Chazz, "That what you were talking about?"

Chazz shook his head, "No...but I gotta feeling it's something to do with her missing though,"

-----

Led by the Ojamas, Winged Kuriboh, Vampire Lord, and Chumley's Des Koala, the six Slifers ran down the hall leading to the Academy's infirmary. As they approached the room, a flash of lightning illuminated the hallway, and revealing two dark figures ahead of them.

They skidded to a stop as Zane and Crowler came into light.

"So?" Jaden panted, "What's up?"

Zane frowned, "There's no sign...it's like they just disappeared,"

"I don't understand, it's not like Jordan or Alexis to up and vanish. Maybe Atticus knows where they are," Crowler suggested.

"Hope so," Siho muttered as the door hissed open.

Everyone entered and were surprised to see the elder Rhodes facedown on the floor.

"Atticus!"

They all rushed to the fallen Rhodes' side. Zane turned him over and held him up a bit so he could be more comfortable.

"Dear me...," Crowler breathed, "He doesn't look well,"

"What happened, Atticus?" Jaden asked, shaking the boy's shoulder.

Atticus groaned and opened his eyes, "It...it was him. T-Ti-Titan...,"

Jaden blinked, confused, "Titan?"

_Titan?!_ Crowler gulped, looking anxious, _That's the name of the duelist I hired to get rid of Jaden...and I never paid him!_

-----

Alexis blinked, coming out what felt like a trance. She looked around and found that she, and Jordan were in the carved out room underneath the Abandoned Dorm, the same room where she was held captive by the Shadow Duelist so long ago.

"Jordy?"

"I'm fine, Lexi...what happened?" Jordan rubbed his eyes, and looked around, "How'd we get here, weren't we just in the infirmary?"

Alexis slowly turned and looked in front of her. The large man in a heavy coat stood directly in front of her...while a girl with dark hair stood in front of Jordan, the two of them wearing duel disks.

"Ok, so we duel, and I get Atticus' memories back," Alexis snapped, "That's the deal!"

Titan chuckled, "That's if you win. But if _I_ win, I get something too. Your Spirit Key and your soul to take back with me to the Shadow Realm. You see, my dear, when you and I first met up, I was a charlatan of the Shadows," he smirked, "But since I've been taken in by them, I am now the real deal!" he kicked over a couple of duel disks towards the two Rhodes, "A _real_ Shadow Rider!"

Jordan grit his teeth, _Great...number six! But who's the girl?_ he glanced at the dark haired girl and squinted, _She looks familiar..._

Titan noticed Jordan's stare and turned to the girl at his side, "Kairi, how would you like to join your father in a duel...like old times?" he offered.

_Kairi?!_ Jordan and Alexis stared at the girl, who had a blank look in her eyes.

"Bastard!"

"What did you do to her, Shadow Rider!?"

Titan laughed, "Nothing. Since I've been away from my lovely daughter for so long, I thought it'd be right to have her join in a friendly duel like we used to do back in our glory days! Isn't that right, Kairi?"

Kairi nodded, smirking, "Yes, Father...let's show these fools the perils of a Shadow Game!"

_Kairi's never been in a real Shadow Game before..._ Jordan scowled as he picked up a spare duel disk, _I don't know what kinda hold this Shadow Rider has on her, father or not, but she doesn't deserve it!_

"Now, let us begin!" Titan roared as the four of them inserted their decks, their disks whirring to life.

"There they are!" Syrus cried out as he and the others entered the large room, Jaden and Chumley carrying Atticus on their shoulders, "Looks like they're gonna duel!"

Jaden shifted the weight of Atticus' arm, "Alexis! Jordan! We're all here for you, now go and beat those guys!"

"Ah...so this _isn't _about the check,"

Chazz looked at Crowler, "What check? What does a check have anything to do with this?"

"Uh...nothing, nothing,"

Siho moved forward, a little further than the others, eyes focused on the two opponents. Titan, he knew very well from his memory...and then there was Kairi. He frowned and shook his head, _Kairi...I know you missed your father, but doing this with him? What is going on?_

Jordan looked at Alexis, and nodded. Alexis returned the nod and glanced off to the side, straight at her brother, _Atticus, this is for you. Jordy and I are gonna win back your memories here and now!_

"LET'S DUEL!" the four of them shouted, drawing their opening hands.

**K: 4000  
J: 4000  
T: 4000  
A: 4000**

"Me first!" Kairi drew her card and her vacant eyes glanced at what she had drawn, "First, I play two cards facedown, then I summon Winged Minion (700/700) in attack mode, and end my turn,"

_Weak card...those others must be something to protect it. Oh, well, gotta do something to make her snap out of it_ Jordan drew his card, "I summon Machine King Prototype (1600/1500) in attack mode!" he watched as his tall metal man appeared in front of the puny blue-skinned monster.

"Next," Jordan slipped a card into a slot, "I play Gadget Combination! By sacrificing 1000 of my Life Points, I can Special Summon Red Gadget (1300/1500), Yellow Gadget (1200/1200), and Green Gadget (1400/600) from my deck or hand. In this case, my deck," Jordan explained as he slapped three cards onto his disk and the colorful gear-like monsters appeared on his field.

**K: 4000  
J: 3000  
T: 4000  
A: 4000**

"Jordy, you sure you wanna do that?" Alexis asked her cousin.

Jordan grinned, "Don't worry, Lexi, these guys haven't failed me once, so I know I can trust them," he turned back to Kairi, "This not only gives me three more monsters, but since my Machine King Prototype is on the field, he gains 100 extra attack and defense points for each additional Machine monsters on my field!"

Machine King Prototype (1900/1800)  
Red Gadget (1300/1500)  
Yellow Gadget (1200/1200)  
Green Gadget (1400/600)

"Finally, I play one of my newest Spell cards, a card called Rise of the Machines!" **(1)** Jordan slipped another card into his disk, "If you don't know what this does, I'll let you know in the future," he grinned, "My turn's over,"

Titan raised his hand to his custom deck holder as a card popped out. He caught it and looked at it before placing onto the field, "I summon Picador Fiend (1600/1400) **(2)**, in attack mode and then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn,"

Jordan stuck out his tongue as a monstrosity appeared. The beast had a skeletal horse on the bottom and a bone-armored warrior mounted ontop of it.

"Nasty...," he spat.

"Got that right, Jordy," Alexis drew her card, "I summon Cyber Tutu (1000/800) in attack mode!"

Titan laughed, "I thought we were dueling, not playing dollies," he mocked.

"Oh yeah?" Alexis hmphed, "Well, this so called _dolly_ is about to dance havoc on your Life Points!"

Again, the Shadow Rider laughed, "It's true, she _does _have me outmatched...she can beat my monster easily!" he smirked, _That is, if I didn't have a facedown that'll activate as soon as she attacks and destroy that Cyber Tutu!_

Alexis looked at him for a few moments and frowned a little, _Something's not right...but what? _she thought as her eyes scanned his field. They widened as they landed on the card he had just played, _His facedown! Oh...I don't think so, pal!_

She held up a Spell card, "I play Allegro Tool! It gives my ballerina a little extra _kick_ by destroying one Spell or Trap card on the field," she explained as her Cyber Tutu spun around rapidly until a sword shot out forth and pierced Titan's facedown card, destroying it.

"Now, Cyber Tutu, take the lead in this dance and in this duel, too! Because as long as you have a monster stronger than my Tutu, she can attack you directly!"

This was proven by Cyber Tutu spinning past Titan's monster and roundhouse kicked him in the jaw, knocking him to his knees. Titan snarled and wiped his chin as blood trickled from his mouth.

**K: 4000  
J: 3000  
T: 3000  
A: 4000**

"Next, I'll play a card facedown and end my turn," Alexis finished, slipping a card into a slot.

Kairi drew her card, "I now sacrifice my Winged Minion in order to summon, Mefist the Infernal General (1800/1700)!"

_Mefist?_ Siho stared as a fiendish horseman appeared on her field, _Not only is that one of Chazz's old cards, but I've been over Kairi's deck lotsa times, and she's **never** had that card!_

"Oh...man...,"

Siho turned to see Khamille's head falling, "Khamille...what did you do?" he aske slowly.

Khamille covered her face with one of her hands and shook her head, "That's one of the cards I gave her,"

"_One _of the cards?"

She nodded, "As a sign of friendship and hopefully forgiveness, I used my leftover resources my brother keeps for me to buy her some great cards for her deck. Some however, she wanted to keep, so I just gave her what I thought was best...,"

Siho clicked his tongue and turned back to the duel, "Well, let's see what else she has in there,"

"Trust me...you don't wanna know,"

Kairi smiled as her horseman pawed the ground, "Since I used Winged Minion as a Tribute to bring out my General, who by the way is a Fiend-Type monster, my General gains 700 attack and defense points for as long as he's face-up on the field!"

Mefist (2500/2400)

"Mefist, attack Yellow Gadget with Infernal Assault!"

The large horse roared and galloped over to Jordan's field, and the horseman stabbed the Gadget monster in the middle, blowing it to pieces.

**K: 4000  
J: 1700  
T: 3000  
A: 4000**

"Now, I play Mefist's ability! Whenever he deals you battle damage, I can select a random card from your hand and you gotta discard it!" Kairi pointed to Jordan's middle card, "Say buh-bye to that card, Rhodes!"

Jordan growled as he tossed the card into his Graveyard slot, _So much for Power Bond...I was hopin' to use that this duel..._

"I end my turn with that,"

The Ra drew his next card, "Alright...first, I play my Rise of Machine Spell card's ability! After the turn a Machine-Type monster is destroyed, I can Special Summon it to the field. Plus, the returned monster's attack points get stronger by 800!" he smiled as his Yellow Gadget came back to him.

Machine King Prototype (1900/1800)  
Red Gadget (1300/1500)  
Yellow Gadget (2000/1200)  
Green Gadget (1400/600)

"Next, I sacrifice my Machine King Prototype to summon the Machine King (2200/2000) to the field!" Jordan tossed his first King into his Graveyard as the next stage of his metal man took the field, sparks arcing around him, "Like the Prototype, this Machine King gains 100 attack points for every machine monster on my field...even itself!"

Machine King (2600/2000)  
Red Gadget (1300/1500)  
Yellow Gadget (2000/1200)  
Green Gadget (1400/600)

"Machine King, attack and destroy Mefist the Infernal General with Rocket Punch!"

The metal ruler raised an arm and fired off it's fist, aimed straight at Mefist. However, it didn't work as Kairi pressed a button on her duel disk and one of her facedowns was revealed.

"Go, Threatening Roar!" she commanded as a burst of sound waves came between her monster and the fist, "For the rest of this turn, you can't declare an attack on me, or my monsters!".

Jordan grit his teeth as his King's fist came back and re-attached itself to his monster, "I'll switch all my Gadgets into defense mode, and end my turn," he muttered, turning the cards sideways, _That should protect my points awhile longer._

Titan drew his next card, "Picador Fiend, attack Cyber Tutu!" he ordered.

"Sorry!" Alexis' facedown card revealed itself as the strange monster attacked, "Go, Double' Pass'e! Now, _I_ take the attack!" she cried out before the green light diverted away from Cyber Tutu and cut through her own chest, making her fall back, wincing in pain.

**K: 4000  
J: 1700  
T: 3000  
A: 2400**

"Lex!" Jordan watched his cousin stumble, "You ok?!"

"I'm fine, Jordy!" Alexis promised as she came back to her feet, glaring at Titan, "I did that so even though I took damage, so will you! Cyber Tutu, attack him directly! Pounding Pirouette!"

"What the?!" Titan watched as Cyber Tutu spun around and around once more before getting kicked in the jaw again.

**K: 4000  
J: 1700  
T: 2000  
A: 2400**

"Father!" Kairi turned to him, "I'll get her for ya!"

"Don't," he hissed, rubbing his jaw, "She's mine. Concentrate on the boy,"

_Ok, so far so good. I just need to give him some more of those combo attacks..._ Alexis glanced at her cousin, _Jordy needs to take on the offensive, even if it means hurting Kairi. I know she's a friend, but she's not herself. He needs to beat her to bring her to her senses!_

Titan smiled as Alexis looked at her cousin and chuckled.

"Now what?" she snapped, hearing the laugh.

Titan shrugged, "Nothing. I'm just remembering of the first time we met. My, how the tables have turned...,"

"Yeah, you got that right," she glared at him, "Now, I'm not just some victim that got kidnapped and stuffed inside a coffin. _Now_, I can fight back, and I got someone to help me!" she glanced at Jordan again, who nodded in agreement.

Titan smirked again, "No dear. I mean, before, you were the bait used to lure my prey to me, but now _you're_ the one who's my quarry...my target! So, I shall treat you as such," he plucked a card from his hand, "I now play Ritual of the Matador! By sacrificing the Level 6 Summoned Skull (2500/1200) from my hand, in order to summon Matador Fiend (0/0)!"

An orange blob of slime appeared on Titan's field and as soon as he tossed the Summoned Skull, the blob took shape, into a humanoid being with leathery, orange wing flaps under it's blackened arms.

Alexis stared at it, a frown on her face, "A monster with zero attack _and_ defense points? Something tells me there's more to him than meets the eye...," she mused.

"Oh, there is!" Titan nodded, "So keep a sharp lookout...though, that would be difficult after I play _this_," he slid a card into his end tray, "Difficult for _you_ that is, but not for me," he murmured as his mask glowed brightly, "I activate Dark Arena!"

At those words, the field was quickly and completely covered in a thick veil of darkness and shadows.

"I can't see the field!" Alexis cried, looking from side to side, "Jordan!"

"I'm...I'm fine, Lexi...d-don't worry about me,"

She turned to her cousin's voice, "Jordy?"

"I'm fine!"

Alexis reluctantly turned back to her opponent's field, only to see it was completely hidden. She frowned, _How can I fight what I can't see? I can't make out his monsters at all!_

"Your move...," Titan laughed coldly, enjoying the new field.

-----

"Aw, man, I can't see anything!" Syrus moaned as he and the others tried to see through the veil.

"Someone should go in there," Crowler suggested, "Someone...who isn't me, of course,"

Atticus kept his eyes focused on the dark field card ahead, hoping that a glimpse of his family would be seen.

"Dammit!" Khamille stomped the floor, "I can't believe this! I try and help Kairi out with her deck, and the first duel she's in with it, it's a Shadow Game and she's brainwashed!"

Siho patted her on the shoulder, "Don't worry, you had no way of knowing. Although...depending on how this plays out," he looked at her, "Kairi's gonna go all emo,"

"Emo?" Khamille blinked confusedly, "Why?"

"Titan?" he nodded to the Dark Arena, "Her father. Last time she was here, she dueled me and Titan dueled Jaden. However, the two of them got sucked into an actual Shadow Game and Titan lost. Since then, she's been here with us, hoping to find out what happened to him,"

"She didn't know what happened to him?"

Siho shook his head, "No...didn't have the heart to tell her,"

"...the guy was a sham,"

The other two Slifers turned to see Jaden talking to Chazz, and Siho noticed the Gravekeeper medallion around his neck was glowing.

Crowler nodded, "Precisely. A sham indeed..I don't know why I even hired him and Kairi...,"

Everyone turned to him, eyebrows raised.

"Uh...nevermind," Crowler waved his hands hastily, "Forget I said anything,"

-----

_With Dark Arena out, I can't see anything. Not even the monsters Titan has out_ Alexis thought as she peered through the shadows, hearing Titan's cold laughter from the other side.

"The darkness is fitting for a Shadow Duel, don't you think?" the Shadow Rider asked casually, "But still, allow me to shed _some_ light on the situation. Here, in the Dark Arena, your monsters in attack mode _must _attack, but, seeing as neither your monsters, or the boy's monsters can't see, Kairi and I are allowed to choose for them!"

"Well, then that's a case of the blind leading the blind. Just because our monsters can't see, doesn't mean we can't win! I'll just need someone who can pack a powerful punch!" she drew her card and smiled at it, "Perfect! I play the Spell card Polymerization! By fusing Etoile Cyber (1200/1600) and Blade Skater (1400/1500) to summon Cyber Blader (2100/800)!"

Alexis watched as her two mosnters became one with purple skin, red skimpy leggings, a small tutu, and a visor around her eyes, her long blue hair flying behind her.

"And, what's cool about her is that her special effect changes depending on how many monsters you have,"

Titan scowled, "Oh, does it now?"

"Yeah...and since you have _two_ monsters out on the field, Cyber Blader's attack points are doubled!"

Cyber Blader (4200/800)

Titan chuckled, "4200 attack points...whatever will I do?" he mocked.

"You'll get your butt kicked, because it won't matter who I attack. My monster is the strongest monster on the field and she can take down _any_ target!" Alexis pointed ahead of her, "Now, go Cyber Blader! Whirlwind Rage!"

Titan smirked, "Matador Fiend, meet her on the field!" he ordered.

The Fusion monster and the Ritual monster hit each other head on, but as Cyber Blader's foot connected with the Matador, the opposing monster fired off a beam of green energy, sending Cyber Blader back across the field before blowing her away.

Alexis watched, amazed, "What's going on? Cyber Blader has _way_ more attack points than Matador Fiend, she should've won this! What's going on!" she yelled.

"Oh, sorry, didn't you know?" Titan taunted, "Matador Fiend cannot be destroyed in battle, and he cannot take damage. Although...the monster that battles him, is destroyed,"

Alexis stared, "No way...,"

"There's more! As I said before: every monster in attack mode here, must now battle each other,"

"I don't think so!" Alexis snapped, "Cyber Tutu's ability allows her to attack you directly! So, your Matador Fiend will have to pick a fight with someone else!"

"You're wrong again!" Titan roared with laughter, "Cyber Tutu's effect _only_ activates when there are no monsters on my field that has less attack points. But, my Matador Fiend has zero attack points! So you see, Cyber Tutu's effect _can't _be used and it will never be used again when Picador Fiend gets through with her!" he explained as his mounted Fiend stomped over to Alexis' side, "This will be her last dance!"

Cyber Tutu was forcefully drawn onto the field as Picador Fiend advanced on her. As soon as she was in range, Picador Fiend shot a beam of bright energy through her belly, destroying her.

"Tutu!" Alexis cried out as her monster bit the dust. She then felt leftover damage the beam pierced through the smoke and hit her dead on. Groaning in pain, Alexis fell to her knees, holding her chest.

"So...this is what a Shadow Game feels like...,"

**K: 4000  
J: 1700  
T: 2000  
A: 1800**

"Don't worry, Alexis. At least your brother won't remember that you and that weakling with you failed him!"

Alexis glared as she placed a card sideways on her disk, "Jordan and I won't fail him. I summon Cyber Gymnast (800/1800) in defense mode!"

A new woman, one in tight dark clothes, long blonde hair, and a white mask appeared on the field, arms folded.

"Gimme your best shot!" she challenged.

Titan chuckled, "My dear, if you even knew what my best was, you wouldn't be asking for it,"

"Oh, really?"

"Haven't you realized yet that I'm _not_ the same duelist that you met before? I changed when the Shadows took me in...,"

-Flashback-

_Blobs and blobs swarmed around Titan's body as he sank into the dark abyss. He reached out his arm, hoping for a way to get free as the blobs chewed at various parts of his body._

_"Help me! Someone help me, please!" he screamed in agony, "I'll do anything! Just please, help me!"_

_"You'll do anything...?" a voice from above asked him, "So be it. I shall spare you the agony of the Shadows, and you will be my devoted servant. You will do my bidding,"_

_"Alright! Very well, I'll do anything!" Titan shouted, "Just tell me what I have to do!"_

_A figure appeared before him, hunched over and covered in some sort of cloth, "You will defeat those who guard the Legendary Demons, and this Shadow Charm will help you do it," he ordered as a mask, much like his own, save for a golden eye symbol on the forehead came down onto Titan._

-End Flashback-

Titan laughed as thick veins appeared on both his face and mask, altering his appearance to a more disturbing level. It didn't stop there, veins appeared on his fingers, arms and everything else that could be seen.

"So...you see, Alexis, I'm more powerful than ever!"

"And uglier," Alexis muttered, "But I got news for you. _True_ dueling power doesn't come from some Shadow Charm. It comes from the reason of why you duel! You also don't need to take control of your own flesh and blood to duel alongside you!"

Titan scoffed, "Reason to duel? Where did you get that from? Surely not from your 'beloved' brother. After all, the reason _he_ became a Shadow Rider was to gain power!"

"Bastard!"

Alexis was startled. She had just about forgotten that Jordan was closer than she thought.

"You're a damn liar, you ugly sonofabitch! Atticus would never do anything like that!"

"Oh, I'm _truly_ sorry, Jordan, but if you don't believe me, just wait!" Titan turned and looked into the shadows beside him, "Kairi, it's your turn,"

Kairi's voice wafted into the dark air, "Thank you father...," she drew her card, "Jordan, you're about to witness a monster that brings ultimate power to my deck, and you can thank Khamille for that. With this monster, you will witness the destruction of your family! Now, you will feel the pain I've felt all this time!" she inserted a card into her disk, "I play Polymerization! Now, I shall fuse my own Summoned Skull with Versago the Destroyer (1100/900) to create and summon...,"

"Whoa, back up? Versago? The card that Khamille gave you?" Jordan stared through the darkness, hoping to get a look at her, "What can you make outta that?"

An annoyed growl came from her side, "Versago's ability allows it to take the form of a Fusion-Material monster and it can be used in a Fusion Summon...as long as the other monster in the Fusion is the actual monster," she explained, "As I was saying, I fuse these monsters to summon...,"

She paused again as a huge dark form took shape in front of her. Jordan watched as sharp, curved claws poked through the shadows, and a giant pair of wings flapped, sending bursts of air towards him.

"The Black Skull Dragon (3200/2500)!" Kairi screamed over the growls of her behemoth, "My most powerful monster in my entire deck, and it will obliterate you and your family will follow!"

_No..._ Jordan closed his eyes _I lost my family once before, I won't lose this one!_

-Flashback-

_"What was the cause of the accident?"_

_"Dumbass punk was too jacked up to focus on the road. Hit the car dead on, the punk died instantly,"_

_"The family that was involved?"_

_"Father died on impact, the mother was dead en route to the emergency room, and the older kid just passed away while in surgery,"_

_The policeman looked up from his clipboard and turned his gaze over to a small blonde boy, about five to seven years old, shaking underneath the blanket he was wrapped in._

_"Poor kid...how'd he survive?"_

_The nurse sighed and shook her head, "I don't know really. When the guys on the scene said that his brother's body was sort of leaning over him. as if to protect him from the debris...poor little guy,"_

_"He have any next of kin?"_

_"Yeah. Cousins and their folks. They should be here any second now. Anything else, officer?"_

_"Nope...I got enough for the police report. Thanks,"_

_Jordan watched silently as the two adults went their seperate ways, leaving him alone._

_"Jordy?"_

_Hearing his name, he slowly turned his head to see his cousins standing a short ways away, their parents behind them._

_Tears welled up in his eyes and he jumped from his seat, tossing the blanket away sa he ran to them. Within seconds, he launched onto both Alexis and Atticus, crying uncontrollably, his tears soaking their shirts._

-End Flashback-

_For the longest time, Atty and Lexi have watched out for me after coming to live with them. Whenever I was down, Lexi cheered me up, and whenever someone picked on me, Atty came and kicked their asses for me. I even have some of my best cards thanks to them. I have my Gadget monsters from Atty, and I got my Barrel Dragon from Lexi. I even have a card from my older brother before he was killed... _Jordan glanced at his Graveyard, _His old Power Bond card...he gave it to me as a sign that he loved me and that he would always be there for me when I needed him. I feel like I need him now..._

"Now, Black Skull Dragon, kill off that Machine King!"

Kairi's order snapped Jordan back to reality in time to see his monster bite the dust at the hands of the Fusion monster.

**K: 4000  
J: 1100  
T: 2000  
A: 1800**

"Mefist, destroy Red Gadget!"

Jordan's Gadget monster was trampled by the mounted horseman, annihilated. It got worse as his Life Points took a chunk of damage.

**K: 4000  
J: 100  
T: 2000  
A: 1800**

"Not to mention, his ability allowing me to take a card from your hand and making you send it to the Grave," she reminded pointing to the left card, "Bye-bye,"

Jordan tossed the card away, glaring at her.

"I end my turn, _Jordy_,"

"Don't call me that...," he hissed as he drew his next card, "I play Rise of the Machine's ability again to bring back my Machine King!" he declared as his metal man appeared on the field once more, "And he's powered up thanks to Rise of the Machine!"

Machine King (3300/2000)

"Next, I play Pot of Greed!" he drew two more cards, making his hand into three, "Next, I play Machine King Upgrade! **(3)**" he slipped a card into his disk and replaced Machine King with another card from his hand, "If I have Machine King on the field, I can sacrifice him to summon Perfect Machine King (2700/1500)!"

Jordan's King was soon replaced by another version of itself, this one looking larger and more intimidating.

"Like his predecessors, he gains power for other Machine monsters...500 points for each one!"

Perfect Machine King (3700/1500)  
Yellow Gadget (2000/1200)  
Green Gadget (1400/600)

"Finally, not only do I switch my remaining Gadgets into attack mode, but I play Limiter Removal!" Jordan declared, holding up his final card, "This doubles all of my Machine monster attack points!"

Perfect Machine King (7400/1500)  
Yellow Gadget (4000/1200)  
Green Gadget (2800/600)

"Yellow Gadget, attack!"

Kairi grit her teeth, "Black Skull Dragon, go!" she hissed, knowing the outcome.

The two monsters collided and the Dragon was blow to bits as the Gadget rammed itself into it's bone armored gut.

**K: 3200  
J: 100  
T: 2000  
A: 1800**

"Green Gadget, go!"

"Mefist, go onto the battlefield!"

Like the Dragon, the Infernal General was destroyed by a Gadget monster after being tackled by it.

**K: 2900  
J: 100  
T: 2000  
A: 1800**

"Now, Perfect Machine King, finish her off!" Jordan screamed, "PERFECT ROCKET PUNCH!"

He watched as his King raised both arms and fired off it's gigantic fists into the Dark Arena surroundings. Jordan closed his eyes as Kairi's screams of pain rippled through the air, _Kairi...forgive me..._ he thought before falling over, exhausted.

**K: 0  
J: 100  
T: 2000  
A: 1800**

Alexis heard the thump that Jordan's body gave as it collapsed, but knew what had had happened. A tear rolled down her cheek, _You fought well, Jordy...now let me take care of the rest!_

Titan drew his card, "Your brat may have defeated my daughter, but I'll be the one to take you down! Now, Picador Fiend attacks you directly!"

Another beam of green energy phased through Alexis' body, sending her to her knees.

**K: 0  
J: 100  
T: 2000  
A: 200**

Titan laughed, "As you can see, the end is near. The Shadows beckon. You squirm, but they still close in. It's only a matter of time now!"

_Tell me about it...with Jordy down and out, I'm the only left to help Atticus _Alexis thought, _But with Cyber Gymnast's special ability, I can discard one card from my hand and destroy one of his monsters...but since I don't have any cards right now, I'm going to have wait 'til next round to use it._

"Whatever are you thinking about?" Titan asked her, "Let me guess, something to do with Cyber Gymnast? Well don't bother, because she won't be around for long, for I summon Banderillero Fiend (900/900) **(4)**!" he paused as a disturbing, winged serpent-like monster appeared on the field, "His ability destroys one monster on your field...namely your Gymnast!"

Alexis looked away as her Cyber Gymnast glowed a green aura before blowing up, leaving her open for an attack.

Titan smirked at her and her predicament, "Get up...or are your reasons for dueling not good enough?" he mocked.

_Maybe he's right..._ Alexis winced, trying to keep her eyes open, _Maybe they're not enough. Because as much as I wanna this for us...I don't have the strength for it. It's over...my Key, my family, my soul...I've...lost them all. _With that, Alexis fell over all the way, facedown on the floor.

Titan chuckled, "That's right, stay down! There's no point in fighting, you can't win! After all, the reasons you fight aren't nearly as strong as the Shadows themselves,"

Alexis moaned, knowing that what Titan was saying was true. She should give up...there was no way to save herself, or her family. No way at all. All she had to...all she could do, was stay very still.

"Alexis!"

"Lexi!"

The blonde Obelisk opened her eyes at the voices of Jordan and Atticus. From outside, Atticus was calling out to her while Jordan was trying to call to her in his weakened state.

"Alexis, you can do this!" Atticus urged, "C'mon!"

"Lexi...don't give up," Jordan gasped, "We're here for him...I've done what I can, so you gotta pull through. We believe in you, Lexi...go for it. Kick his ass!"

Alexis winced and slowly pushed herself off the cold stone floor, "Can't stop...,"

"What's this?!" Titan roared, stunned to see Alexis climb back to her feet, a look of determination on her face.

"_This_ is my turn," Alexis snapped as she drew her card, "And I'll take a page from Jordy's book and play Pot of Greed!" she drew two new cards, "I play The Warrior Returning Alive to bring Blade Skater back to my hand, then I play Fusion Recovery to bring back Polymerization and Etoile Cyber from the Graveyard!" she held up her three old, yet new cards.

"What...?!" Titan glared at her.

"Next, I'll play Polymerization again to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to summon Cyber Blader!" she cried out as her monster returned to her field, "Remember her? Well, now she's back and ready to get some sweet revenge! This is over, your Shadow Powers have failed you, and you've lost this duel!"

Titan smirked at her words, "You're delirious. I have three monsters out on the field and you are still in the dark!"

"Yeah, maybe, but not for long...," Alexis smiled confidently, "Because my Cyber Blader's about to light up your world!"

"You lie!"

"Wrong! Since you have _three _monsters on the field, Cyber Blader's special ability, Shining Cyber Light, activates! This cancels any and all effects that you have out!" she explained as Cyber Blader glowed a bright light, causing the Dark Arena to disappear.

Titan looked around in horror, "NO! YOU DESTROYED MY DARK ARENA!"

Alexis nodded and looked around. Jordan was on the floor, but he was still with her, watching the duel while Kairi lay unmoving on the floor ahead of him.

"And there's more! Matador Fiend's ability to reduce Battle Damage to zero is negated!"

"NO!"

"So go, Cyber Blader!" she pointed to Matador Fiend, "Skate Blade Slash!"

Titan roared as his monster, and himself was kicked hard and fast by the Cyber Blader. He flew back and landed onto his back, feeling the power of the attack finish off his points.

**K: 0  
J: 100  
T: 0  
A: 200**

Titan looked up and saw a huge mass of slimey, black blobs coming towards him. Panicking, he ran and jumped into the area where Kairi lay. He picked her up as the monsters began to surround her too.

"I won't let you take her!" he screamed, throwing his daughter as hard as he could. Kairi flew across the room until flying into both Khamille and Siho, knocking the other Slifers to their asses. He looked down and screamed as the blobs began to cover him...just like the last time.

"No, no, no! Not again!" he batted them away, but it only resulted in more and more covering his body bit by bit.

All anyone could do was watch Titan become engulfed by the blobs and disappear into nothingness, leaving only his Shadow Charm mask on the stone floor.

-----

The sun rose into the air as the large group exited the Abandoned Dorm, Khamille carrying Kairi in her arms, still unconcious from the duel. Alexis had Jordan's arm around her neck, helping him walk better since he was hurt minorly.

Everyone else watched as the three Rhodes exchanged heart-filled looks and hugged each other tightly, despite Jordan's condition.

"It's nice how a family comes together," Siho murmured.

Khamille looked down at her unmoving friend, "What was Kairi doing here?"

"Titan probably took her when he returned. That Shadow Charm of his must've had some hold on her and when she was beaten, she was released...," he offered with a shrug.

Khamille frowned, "Okay, but why were those blobby things after _her_? She wasn't the one with a Shadow Charm," she asked.

Again, he shrugged, "She was a player in a Shadow Game, and when she lost, she became a target for those things," he grabbed Kairi's sneaker and shook it a bit, "But I guess Titan didn't want her to suffer the same fate as he did. Guy may have been a Shadow Rider, but he was still her father. I guess even with all that crap messin' up his mind...his love for his daughter took control at the end and even though he wanted to save himself, he made sure Kairi was safe first," he sighed, "Makes you think differently about these Riders,"

Khamille nodded and shifted Kairi's weight in her arms, "...maybe,"

"Atticus, I still don't understand something...,"

Both Slifers looked up at the Rhodes trio who were pulling away from each other, a confused look on Alexis' face.

"How did you end up in the Shadow Realm?" she asked her brother, "Titan said you did it for power,"

Atticus shook his head, "Believe me, you too, I never wanted that. I was told to come here, with some others for a dueling test. Then...well, it happened. That test was supposed to be in the basement, but instead, we found hundreds of those Shadow Fiend monsters that took Titan away. I was captured and taken in the Shadow Realm when they brainwashed me for months and months until I became this...this _thing_ called Nightshroud,"

"But _who_?" Alexis leaned in a bit, "Who was it that brainwashed you?"

Atticus shook his head again, "Never did find out...however, the person that called me to come here and take the duel test...,"

"Yeah?" Jordan nodded, "Well?"

"It...it was Professor Banner...,"

Everyone gasped and stared in silence at what Atticus had just said to them all. Khamille was so shocked, she almost dropped Kairi.

_**Our** Professor Banner? _Jaden looked up at the sky in thought, _So he's in on it?_

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Oh god...that took forever...hope it was good...enjoy! -falls over-**

**Yami K: -tosses burnt keyboard away- third one this year...well, hope it was good, as he said, ya'll. Adios for now, and I hope we got the duel right...if not..then well, we'll see what we can do.**

**(1) Card made by BEWK**

**(2) Didn't know DEF points, so made 'em up**

**(3) Same as number 1**

**(4) Same as number 2**


	62. Spirit Day: Jaden vs Mana

**Spirit Day: Jaden vs Mana**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So, let me get this straight...,"

Christina rubbed the bridge of her nose as Siho sat across from her, "Not only is Kairi being all emo because of the duel with her father...who, had returned as a Shadow Rider, but Banner is behind Atticus' disappearing and him becoming Nightshroud?"

Siho shrugged, "More or less, yeah,"

"Aw, man...," the female Slifer fell onto her bed, head in her hands, "Heavy. But I think you're wrong...,"

"Why is that?"

"Because, if he were a bad guy," she paused and took out her recently acquired Spirit Gate Key, "Why would Banner give me his Key?"

Siho's jaw dropped at the sight of the golden necklace, "You gotta be friggin' kiddin' me!" he hissed, rising from his spot, "He gave _you_ his Key?!"

Christina nodded and tucked the key into her shirt again, "Speakin' of bad guys, what's One-Eyed Willy be tellin' ya?" she asked.

Siho shook his head, "First off, not a damn thing. Secondly, he's been up and chillin' in the mess hall like nothing's happened! I don't know whether he's choosing to be like this or it's a side-effect, but he's just...not like he was when you dueled him," he shrugged, "I'll talk with him later...but for now, let's just enjoy the festival, okay?"

_Ah, yes, Duel Monsters Spirit Day Festival! How can I do something else when this awesome celebration is taking place? People playing carnival games, eating special foods based off Duel Monsters, and my favorite thing...cosplaying! Christina looked through some boxes in her room after Siho had left, checking out the costumes that lay inside, Not only cosplaying, but having duels while cosplaying...man, this is gonna be awesome! Wonder what the others are gonna go as?_

Christina looked through some boxes in her room after Siho had left, checking out the costumes that lay inside

-----

"Check me out!"

Khamille twirled around in her costume, showing it off to Chumley and Syrus outside the Slifer dorm. She wore a clinging red unitard with a green cloth dropping from the center area and then wrapping around her legs to make a strange skirt, dark green, arm-length gloves, her hair was dyed white with a red head-dress and she carried a long staff that had a strange double-curved edge.

Chumley tilted his head, "Uh...it's great, Khamille...but what are you supposed to be?"

She grinned, "I'm Ruin, Queen of Oblivion!" she slipped out a card from her deck belt and showed it to them, "Remember my Demise, King of Armageddon? Well, Ruin is his Queen. Pretty cool, huh?"

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, cool...but Ruin's not as cool as the Dark Magician Girl!"

Khamille slowly turned to him and gripped her staff, "Come here...I wanna show you what I can do with this!"

-----

Well...I never expected to be dressed like this ever, let alone on a cosplaying day.

Siho looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a black robe, golden armlets with matching chest plate, a blue scarf wrapped around his neck and a staff nearby. He looked at the headpiece in his hands and shrugged, "Well...here goes,"

He placed the head piece over his head looked back at himself. He now wore a dog-like helmet on his head, one that looked much like the head of Anubis.

"Huh...not bad," he moved around, checking the costume out, "I guess a Gravekeeper's Commander really suits me,"

-----

After suiting up, Christina and Siho met outside. The male Slifer took one look at her and snickered, "I can honestly say I saw this coming...hope Bastion doesn't find out,"

Christina looked down at her light, tan robes and her straight sword that hung at her belt as a hood covered her dyed, blonde hair.

"What?"

Siho shook his head, "Amazoness Paladin...c'mon, you're so damn predictable,"

Her eye twitched, "Oh, shut up!" she snapped, looking him over, "What the hell are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"Gravekeeper's Commander,"

"...never heard of it,"

"New monster card that was recently released...,"

"Oh...,"

"You guys look good," a new voice greeted, making them turn to see Khamille walking up to them. Siho eyed her and smirked, "Hello, beautiful...what are you supposed to be, a Duel Monsters dominatrix?"

WHAP WHAP

Siho fell over as the two girls lowered their cosplay weapons.

"Perv...," they muttered together before taking off.

Jordan looked at his costume while Alexis and her girlfriends looked him over.

"You sure about this? I mean...seriously, I don't think it's my style,"

"Don't worry, Jordan, you look fine," Alexis nodded, smiling.

"With you here, we only need a dragon to complete the set, Jordy," Jasmine cooed.

Mindy giggled, "He's so cute!"

Jordan glared at her, "Shaddup, I ain't a little kid!"

Jaden and Syrus looked at Jordan. He was dressed in jeans, wore brown leather arm coverings, had dark brown hair and wore a pair of brown wings with red feathers lining the top of them.

Jasmine squealed, "He makes such a good Harpie's Brother! Makes sense, doesn't it?" she posed her own outfit along with Mindy and Alexis in front of her, "With us as the Harpie Lady Sisters, it only fits him to be Harpie's Brother!"

Syrus shrugged, "I guess...I gotta admit, it's better than see Miss Dorothy dressed up like the Dark Magician Girl," he shivered.

Jaden nodded, "I'm with ya pal...,"

"Oh shut up," Jordan looked at Jaden, "Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

That was a good question. Jaden wasn't dressed in a recognizable costume. He wore a wide-brimmed purple hat, red plate armor, purple gloves and boots, had on green shoulder-pads and carried a grayish plate shield.

"Looks like a Chimera of monsters...," Mindy murmured.

Jordan looked at her, "Chimera? Did you just say a big word, Mindy? Where'd you learn that?" he cracked, earning a punch in the shoulder.

"Full Metal Alchemist if you must know," she huffed, "Bite me,"

-----

Kairi watched her friends from the top level of the Slifer dorm, dressed as the Beast of Talwar. She didn't even want to leave her room, especially after what had happened to her recently with her father's return and second defeat, but after some encouragement...well, more like an annoying push from her roommates, she decided to step out and get some air...maybe have some fun.

She watched as Alexis chased Atticus around, while the Obelisk boy had a camera in his hand. He must have done something to make Alexis angry, but the event of the Rhodes siblings running away was replaced when Jaden stepped onto the dueling field Syrus had made earlier that day.

Leaning forward, she noticed that his opponent was a girl who looked very much like the Dark Magician Girl. She raised an eyebrow, _Eh...might as well go check it out_ she thought as she headed for the stairs, seeing that her fellow Slifers were heading to the field as well.

-----

Jaden and the Dark Magician Girl cosplayer drew their opening hands as the points went up to full.

DMG: 4000  
J: 4000

"Get your game on!"

"Alright, here goes!" Dark Magician Girl drew her card, "I think I'll place one monster facedown, and end my turn," she giggled, dancing in her spot.

Jaden watched and sweatdropped as all the male spectators cheered her on, "So much for homefield advantage," he muttered as he drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!"

Syrus watched as Jaden's caped Hero came to the field, "Wow, and you know what that means, right Chazz?" he asked, turning to his fellow commentator who was dressed as XYZ-Dragon Cannon, "You do, right? Because I don't,"

"It means, Syrus, that Jaden can draw two more cards from his deck," Chazz explained into the microphone, eyes not leaving the duel field.

"That's right, thanks to Bubbleman's special ability!" Jaden drew his cards, "Then, from my hand, I'll activate Polymerization to fuse my Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) with my Elemental Hero Bubbleman to create the Elemental Hero Steam Healer (1800/1000)!"

From the fiery Heroine and the bubbly Hero, came a large new Hero with a huge, round body covered with red and purple armor and a strange metal pipes coming up out of his back.

"Wow, he looks tough," Syrus commented, looking at the new Hero.

Chazz shrugged as best he could in his cosplay outfit, "Guess we'll see,"

"Now Steam Healer, attack that facedown!" Jaden ordered, pointing to the target in mind.

As Steam Healer hovered towards the card, it flipped over to reveal a young blonde girl in black robes with a matching hat.

"Hey, check out Dark Magician Girl's monster! It's Fire Sorcerer (1000/1500)!"

Chazz smiled and nodded at Syrus' obvservation, "This should be interesting...,"

"Alright, here goes!" Dark Magician Girl smiled widely, "I play Fire Sorcerer's special ability! Do your thing, Sweety!" she cooed as Fire Sorcerer glowed with a purple light.

"Her thing! She's gonna do her thing!" Syrus cheered, then turned to Chazz, "What exactly is her thing?"

"Her _thing_, removes two of Dark Magician Girl's cards from the game, and then Sy, she deals 800 points of damage to Jaden," he explained.

Dark Magician Girl held up two cards from her hand and hid them away, "Now, Fire Sorcerer, blast him!"

Jaden watched as Fire Sorcerer created a fireball in her hand and launched it straight at him, hitting him hard.

DMG: 4000  
J: 3200

"Well, I'm not the only one gettin' burned," Jaden cried as his monster gave Fire Sorcerer a personal steam clean, blasting her to bits, "I play Steam Healer's effect!"

Syrus' eyes went a little wide, "Wow...that's one cool special effect!"

Chazz nodded, "It lets Jaden there gain Life Points equal to the attack points of the monster that he destroyed,"

DMG: 4000  
J: 4200

Boos and angry shouts made Jaden cringe a little as the spectators heckled him for the attack on the cute girl and her monsters.

"Wow...looks like those guys are made at Jaden for...winning," Syrus said slowly, looking at the crowd.

Bastion, who was dressed as Amazoness Tiger nodded from the back of the crowd where he, Zane, and Crowler stood, watching the duel.

"What would they have him do, give up?"

Crowler nodded, "Sounds good to me,"

Zane crossed his arms, looking a bit ill, "She's playing the crowd like Jaden's playing his deck,"

"My turn!" Dark Magician Girl said happily, drawing her card, "I summon Magician's Valkyria (1600/1800) in attack mode!" she declared as a young woman in a similar outfit and head-dress appeared on the field.

"Oh, good move!" Syrus praised, "As long as that's on the field, Jaden won't be able to attack any other Spellcaster-Type monsters on the field!"

"How about lettin' me have a word in?!" Chazz snapped, pushing Syrus away.

Syrus grinned slyly, "How about next time?"

"Now, I activate Dimension Fusion!" Dark Magician held up a card, "By paying 2000 Life Points, we both can summon back monsters that were removed from the game back to the field! No need to thank me, it's my pleasure!"

DMG: 2000  
J: 4200

"Not just yours, but I bet those two monsters you removed are thrilled, too!" Syrus added, earning a glare from Chazz.

Dark Magician Girl smiled, "That's right! Because now they get to come back!" she said as a second Valkyria and, surprisingly, a Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) joined her other Valkyria on the field.

Crowler clapped with the other spectators, "She's playing the card she's pretending to be!"

Bastion frowned, "Yes...curious, though. It was my understanding that only the King of Games, Yugi Motou, had a Dark Magician Girl...,"

Zane nodded, "Mine too. Just who is this girl?"

"Go, Dark Magician Girl!" the cosplaying girl ordered, "Blast that Steam Healer with Dark Burning Blast!"

Dark Magician Girl, the card, raised her staff and fired off an orb of pulsating energy into Steam Healer's body, obliterating him.

DMG: 2000  
J: 4000

Jaden lowered his arm after the blast subsided, "No more healing for him," he muttered.

"And there's more," Dark Magician Girl, the player, said with a wink, "Next, I'll attack you directly with both of my Valkyria!"

Syrus jumped, "With _both_ of them?"

Dark Magician Girl grinned, "I don't like to play favorites, and neither do they!" she laughed as her Valkyria's crossed their staffs and blasted Jaden with a huge ball of green magical energy, creating a large blast and taking off a good chunk of his Life Points.

DMG: 2000  
J: 800

"Oh well...," Jaden looked up after the huge attack, "When the dueling gets tough, the tough gets dueling," he drew his card, "Sweet! I play the Spell card, Fusion Recovery! This lets me take Polymerization and a Fusion-Material monster from my Graveyard and them to my hand," he reached down and took the two mentioned cards, "This lets me fuse Burstinatrix with the Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) to create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

Jaden's favorite monster appeared on the field, and once again, jeers and cries of dislike erupted from the sidelines.

"You're nothing but a bully!"

"Stop picking on girls!"

"What is he doing?!" Syrus wailed into his microphone, "It's like Jaden doesn't want her to win or something!"

"Take a chill pill, Syrus," Chazz looked at the field, "It's Dark Magician Girl who still has the lead here,"

Syrus stopped crying, "She does?"

Jaden, while ignoring the ongoing boos and yay's for the field, looked at his opponent's side and frowned, "He's right...my Flame Wingman...I can't attack...,"

Zane nodded, looking at the duel, "Valkyria...that special ability of her is still in effect. As long as she's on the field, Jaden can't attack any Spellcaster-Type monsters,"

'That's right," Bastion agreed, "And there's two. The first one protects the second one, while the second one protects the first one,"

Jaden slipped a couple of cards into his disk, "I guess I'll throwdown two facedowns and call it a turn,"

Dark Magician Girl looked at his cards, then at her own hand, "Facedowns can be scary...I'm so nervous right now!"

"DON'T WORRY, WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" her fan club roared, making her smile and wave at them.

Jaden sweatdropped, "Well...she _is_ good,"

Chazz chuckled, glancing at Jaden, "Now, we get to see just how good...,"

"That's right, because guess who's turn it is to draw!" Syrus yipped, hopping onto Chazz's costume, "Oh yeah, Dark Magician Girl!"

"Here goes...," Dark Magician Girl drew her card, then held it out to show it to the crowd, "I play this: Magic Formula! It gives my Dark Magician Girl 700 more attack points," she explained as her lookalike glowed with new energy.

Dark Magician Girl (2700/1700)  
Magician's Valkyria 1 (1600/1800)  
Magician's Valkyria 2 (1600/1800)

E-Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)

"That means she'll beat Flame Wingman!" Syrus cheered, "Yeah!"

"Jaden's lost!" Crowler cried happily.

"She won?!" Chazz stared.

"Go, Dark Magician Girl! Attack Flame Wingman and end this!"

Jaden watched as the powered up Spellcaster launched a large orb of purple energy at his monster. As it neared, he pressed a button on his disk, "I play a Trap card! Staunch Defender!"

Alexis, who had just joined the crowd after chasing Atticus around, blinked at the move, "Strange choice...that'll cause all her monsters to attack Wingman,"

Dark Magician Girl frowned, thinking the same thing, "What gives? Why would you want me to attack with all my monsters?" she asked.

Jaden grinned, "Because, of what I have out..._another_ Trap!" Jaden's second facedown card reared up, "Hero Barrier!" he declared as the purple orb of energy crashed into a thin barrier in front of Flame Wingman.

Dark Magician Girl watched and giggled, "Oh...nice move. You got me good there,"

"Got who...what-where?" he turned to his fellow commentator, "Chazz, care to explain how she'll get out of this?"

Chazz smirked, "She's _not_ going to get out of this, Syrus. Hero Barrier stopped the attack, and Staunch Defender forces the Valkyria's to attack the Wingman,"

"But he's _way_ stronger than them!" Syrus squeaked, looking at the Fusion monster.

"DON'T DO IT! WE BEG YOU!" the crowd roared.

Jaden grinned again, "Sorry guys, but I play to win! Flame Wingman, get ready!" he ordered as the two Valkyria's leapt into the air, coming at him, "Now, blast 'em!"

Flame Wingman nodded and fired a stream of red-hot fire that engulfed the first Valkyria, incinerating her, and taking away some Life Points as Dark Magician Girl fell to a knee.

**DMG: 1500  
J: 800**

"Aw man...," Syrus turned to the female duelist, "It doesn't look good for her, does it?"

"Lemme put it this way, Syrus," Chazz shook his head slowly, "No!"

Dark Magician Girl rose to her feet and turned to the sad crowd, smiling, "Don't be sad you guys! You can't win them all, right? Besides, in a way, I _have_ won because I got to meet so many of my fans!" she turned back to the field, "Now, Magician's Valkyria, attack!"

Syrus watched as she ordered her monster to commit...well, dueling suicide. His eyes were glued to the Spellcaster cosplayer, never blinking.

_Got to meet so many of her fans? Wait, that means-!_

The field was filled with a loud booming sound as Flame Wingman fought back, blasting the second Valkyria to nothingness.

**DMG: 1000  
J: 800**

"And that'll do it," Chazz said with a nod, "When Flame Wingman destroys a monster in battle, he deals damage to it's owner equal to that monsters attack points,"

Dark Magician Girl's field blew up into a large cloud of smoke as two fiery streams of power collided with her directly, wiping her out.

**DMG: 0  
J: 800**

As the smoke cleared, everyone noticed that the Dark Magician Girl cosplayer was on her knees, a large smile on her face.

"That was fun! Thank you, Jaden!" she turned and waved to the fancrowd, "See you all around, everyone!"

As the crowd cheered her on, consoled her, or whatever else was left, Syrus smiled at the end of the duel.

"Well, everyone, that's it for now, but don't worry, we'll be back soon...right Chazz?" he asked, looking over his shoulder, "To broadcast more duels?"

"Pfft, yeah right,"

Jaden sat down, rubbing the back of his head, watching the fan crowd, "Man, it's not easy being a bad guy,"

"Aw, don't worry. Some girls like bad guys...or, so I've heard,"

He turned around to see Alexis, Jordan, Bastion, Zane, Khamille, Kairi and Christina standing behind him. Unfortunately, for Bastion, Christina managed to tie a leash around his Amazoness Tiger's collar on his costume.

"Hey guys...," he looked at Bastion, who looked miserable, _Oh boy..._

Bastion pushed Christina away as best he could, "I can't help but wonder...who _was_ that girl?"

Zane nodded, "You'd think we would've seen her around before,"

"You'd think," Jaden looked back at the cheery cosplayer, "Oh well...it's Duel Monsters Spirit Day, so let's party!" he turned to his friends and looked around, "Where's Siho?"

Christina jerked a thumb behind them, to an another dueling field, "He's about to duel Vahn...it's gonna be fun to watch," she wrapped an arm around Kairi's costume and pulled her in, "C'mon, Kairi, let's go cheer him on!"

Kairi remained silent, but smiled a little bit as Christina dragged her, and Bastion via leash, away.

"Christina, let go!"

"Hush, Bastion! You're the Tiger and I'm the human, you listen to me, now c'mon!"

Jordan turned to Alexis, "They're weirder today than they normally are...,"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah...but it's not them I'm worried about, it's Kairi. She hasn't said much since her father lost...I just hope she doesn't hold it against us,"

"Naw," Jaden slapped their backs playfully, "He wasn't himself when you beat him, so she shouldn't be angry at all. Now, c'mon, I wanna see Siho duel. Anyone know if Vahn's any good?"

Zane nodded slowly as he lead them to the other field, "Oh, he's good. His deck and strategies are the reasons he's in Obelisk Blue,"

Jordan glanced at him, "Some say that he's just about as good as you, Zane,"

The Kaiser shrugged, "Depends on how you want to look at it,"

"Why do they say that, anyway?" Khamille asked him.

"His deck, and his strategies, like I said. It's given him Obelisk Rank, and the nickname of 'Master of the Different Dimension'...Siho will have a difficult time dueling him,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Ok, I hope this was good. Before I go, lemme say a few words here.**

**(1) I've seen different stats for Steam Healer, so I took the one I saw in the show for this.**

**(2) this is NOT a one chapter thing for Spirit Day, as you may have guessed already.**

**(3) If anyone didn't seen the original show, or whatever, Mana, is pretty much the real name of the Dark Magician Girl.**

**(4) I dunno if this will be a two or three part thing of Spirit Day...but I promise to ONE reviewer in particular, that they will like it either way.**

**(5) The reason I chose Jordan's costume to be Harpies Brother is this. For one, I wasn't sure what else to have him, and secondly, Jordan is an OC that belongs to BEWK, who has another OC in Phantom 1's Yu-Gi-Oh! Avatar series...short version of the story, the other OC has a special card, and it's Harpies Brother. Oh, and since Jordan and Alexis are close, why not Harpie's Brother?**

**Ja ne, folks!**


	63. Spirit Day: Siho vs Vahn

**Spirit Day: Siho vs Vahn**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"So, Vahnny...," Siho took off his dog-head and inserted his deck, "Why, out of the blue like that, did you challenge me? You wanted to take a page outta Zane's book and go slummin' in the Slifer dorm?"

Vahn kept a cool expression as he inserted his own deck. He was wearing a large, brown, tattered cloak over his body, save his duel disk and arm, which seemed to be covered in a metal plate of some kind. The hood covered his head, although Siho could still see his eyes and his red hair.

"Anyway...," Siho turned on his duel disk, "Let's duel, Gale!"

**S: 4000  
V: 4000**

"I'll go first," Vahn drew his card, "I'll place two cards facedown, then I play Soul Absorption!" he declared, slipping a third card into his disk.

Christina raised an eyebrow, "Soul Absorption?" she turned to Zane who had an amused look on his face, "What's that mean?"

"It means that this will be a _very_ short duel," he chuckled, "I've seen this move a few good times, and it's never let Vahn down. Soul Absorption allows it's controller to gain 500 Life Points everytime a card is removed from play,"

"Oh?" Christina turned back to the duel, "How's that gonna help him?"

"You'll see...," Zane murmured.

Siho drew his card, "I play Cost Down, making all monsters in my hand go down by two levels," he took a card from his hand and inserted into his graveyard, "So I'll discard my loyal Master Kyonshee (1750/1000) to use this effect and summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500)!"

A lot of gasps rippled around the area as the vampiric monster appeared on the field, smirking.

"Gah!" Vampire Lord held up an arm, "It's daytime, what are you, nuts?!" he hissed, glaring at Siho.

"Aw, shut up...," Siho waved him off, "You ain't staying around anyway. I sacrifice and remove my Vampire Lord to summon Vampire Genesis (3000/2100)!"

Everyone backed away as the huge monster from the underworld made it's appearance. Zane raised an eyebrow, "Deja vu...when did Siho get cards that were in Camula's deck?" he whispered to the others.

"I'll...try to explain from what I've thought later, Truesdale," Christina promised, patting his shoulder.

Vahn glanced at the monster and shrugged, "No biggy. Since you removed Vampire Lord, I gain 500 extra Life Points,"

**S: 4000  
V: 4500**

"Won't matter," Siho grinned, "Vampire Genesis, attack him directly!" he ordered, pointing to Vahn.

Again, Vahn remained very calm as the monster let loose it's dark mist of power unto his Life Points, taking a massive chunk out of him.

**S: 4000  
V: 1500**

"Booya!" Siho pumped his arm as his monster came back to him, "Beat this ugly mutha, Gale!" he challenged.

Vahn hmphed, "If you insist...I'll beat you on your own turn," he murmured, reaching for his facedown buttons.

Again, Zane smiled, "What you're about to see here is why he's called the Master of the Different Dimension,"

"First, I play Inferno Tempest!" Vahn's first facedown appeared, "When I take 3000 or more points of damage from one attack, _all_ monsters from both of our decks and our Graveyards are removed from play!" he took what looked like most of his own deck and put them into his cloak, "That's twenty monsters for me...,"

Siho glared as he took out Master Kyonshee, and his other monsters from his deck away, "And that's about...seventeen for me,"

Vahn smirked, "And for each card removed...I gain 500 Life Points,"

**S: 4000  
V: 20000**

Siho, Christina, and most of the other on-lookers' jaws dropped all the way to the ground.

_20,000 Life Points?!_ Siho's eye twitched, _No friggin' way!_

"Now, to finish this...I play my Trap card known as D. D. Dynamite!" Vahn's second facedown came up to reveal a ball of dynamite sticks stuck together, "For every one of your monsters removed from play, you get 300 points of damage! Since you had about eighteen...," he shrugged, "You lose...,"

**S: 0  
V: 20000**

Siho fell to his knees as the holograms disappeared. The area around him was quiet as everyone gawked at what they had just seen.

"HOLY _SHIT_!" Christina screamed, then turned to Zane, "He's on your level?! MORE LIKE HE'S ABOVE IT!!"

Zane pushed her away, rubbing his ringing ear, "That's a move that's gotten him high in these ranks, but his skill is much more complex than just that combo alone,"

"_Complex_?!" Christina pointed to the very short duel, "How the hell could it be more complex that _that_?!"

Vahn walked over to Siho and the Slifer watched a couple of cards flutter down to him. He looked at them, scowled and looked up at Vahn, "I don't take sympathy, or take cards out of sympathy...," he growled.

"They're not out of sympathy...," Vahn knelt down and leaned in, "If you wish to survive the next one, Zolaro...I'd _seriously_ think of adding them to your deck," he whispered.

Siho's eyes widened a bit and he glanced at Vahn as he rose, "What...do you mean, 'next one'?" he asked.

Vahn only turned and walked away, waving at the others, "Catch ya later guys...,"

"Hey!" Siho yelled at him, watching him go, "Get back here, Gale!"

But his view of the Obelisk was gone as more and more cosplayers came between them as Vahn distanced himself, leaving Siho with his friends, his questions gone unanswered.

_Vahn...just what the hell do you know about what we're dealing with?_

-----

"Okay, now you're gonna tell me what I need to know,"

Ptolomea stopped chewing his on his chicken nuggets and looked at Siho, "Oh?"

Siho plopped down in front of him, still wearing his Gravekeeper Commander outfit, an angry look on his face.

The one-eyed giant swallowed his snack and wiped his mouth, sending breaded crumbs to the floor, "Look kid, I gotta warn ya, this is gonna be heavy,"

"I don't care!" Siho leaned forward, eyes burning to Ptolomea's one eye, "These freaks have been after me and my friends for awhile, and I think I deserve some information!"

"Alright, alright...fine," Ptolomea yawned and scratched his head, "First off, there's four members in Cocytus," he held up four fingers, "Each member is named after the innermost circles of Hell. Ever read _Inferno of Dante_?"

Siho shook his head, "Can't say that I have...,"

"Ok...well, anyway, the four of us," he wiggled his fingers, "Caina, Antenora, Ptolomea, that's me-,"

"No shit, sherlock,"

"-and the last one is the strongest one of us all. His name is Judecca," Ptolomea popped a few more nuggets in his mouth, "He's gonna come after you, boy...,"

"What makes you say that?"

"For one thing, remember Caina? The Spellcaster chick?"

"The one who said she was under Arcana's tutelage...yeah, so?"

"That's his twin sister. He's gonna come after you because you took her down, and even though he's a sick, sadistic sonofabitch, he doesn't like it when someone messes with his sister," Ptolomea belched and shook his head, "Man...three down on our side and one to go on the other squad. Kid's are tough,"

Siho smiled confidently and shrugged, "Thanks, we do our best,"

"Good," Ptolomea glared at him, "You're gonna need to do your best if you wanna prevent what they've got planned,"

"About that...," Siho leaned forward again, "What was the revival you mentioned?"

"...how much do you know about the Shadow Games, boy?"

Siho frowned, "Plenty. My friend and I used to look the stuff up when we got into Duel Monsters. For some reason, we got hooked on the information and stories,"

"Figures. Anyway...a very long time ago, in the time of ancient Egypt, a powerful being from the Shadow Realm was unleashed and nearly destroyed the world. Luckily, it was stopped by a powerful Pharaoh. The evil was thought to have been gone for good but...," Ptolomea shook his head slowly, "As long as the Shadow Realm exists, that evil will never be gone. Our group was supposed to find a suitable vessel for it, and prepare for the ritual,"

"Vessel?" Siho held up a hand, "Are we talking about like what Vigo the Carpathian tried to do in _Ghostbusters 2_?"

Ptolomea nodded, "Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, when the vessel takes the spirit of the evil entity into it's own flesh and blood, the vessel itself slowly changes into the human equivalent of it's former self,"

"Human equivalent...what, what do you mean?"

The giant leaned forward, "What I mean is, that even though the evil lives within the person's body, it can't fully take over,"

"Why the hell not? From what I heard, it should be strong enough,"

"That's true, but it's be millenia since it's resurfacing. While retaining old power, it's still weakened by the last attempt of world destruction,"

"Then why and try to bring it back?"

Ptolomea shrugged, "I don't know kid, all I know is that we were supposed to find the vessel and merge them,"

"Okay...and _how_ were you supposed to find the vessel?"

"The vessel's supposed to have some kind of mark, or something on it's flesh,"

Siho paled and cleared his throat, "Uh...okay, thanks for the information, big guy. I should get back to my friends...," he quickly rose from his seat and left the mess hall, leaving the giant duelist to his meal.

-----

Khamille walked up behind Kairi and wrapped her arms around her friend, bringing her into a close hug. She smiled and laid her head on the large costume shoulder, "Hi hi, Kairi...," she greeted.

A mumble was her friend's reply.

"Aw, c'mon, Kairi," Khamille playfully shook her friend, "Ish Duel Monster Spirit Day! Have some fun, get a duel in, eat some Kuriboh Puffs or somethin'!" she urged.

Kairi just shoved her away, "Lemme alone, Kham...,"

The ebony haired Slifer girl sighed, "Look, I understand how you feel right now-,"

"_Understand?_" Kairi snapped, turning around and glaring at her, "You _understand _what is going on with me right now? You know what it's like to lose a parent, not once but _twice_?!" she shrieked, "Oh, thank God, someone finally gets it!"

_Okay, I know she's upset, but she could really tone it down on the sarcasm._ Khamille cleared her throat, "I do know what it's like to lose a parent, Kairi. I lost my mother the very moment I chose to stay here at Duel Academy...I know it's nothing like what you've suffered, and I'm not on the same level, but at least I'm in the category,"

Kairi only glared at her for a few moments before sliding to the ground crying.

The only thing Khamille could do was kneel down and hug her friend close, "It's ok, Kairi. Look, think of it this way. Siho, Chrissy, me, and those other guys in the group can be your family now,"

"I just miss him so much," Kairi sobbed into her friends costume, "What am I gonna do now?"

_I don't think I can give you the answer to that Kairi...that's for you to find out and decide on your own..._ Khamille thought as she patted her friend's back, "S'gonna be okay,"

-----

"An ancient entity of darkness lies in wait in the Shadow Realm, waiting for the chance for these Cocytus guys to find a right host for it, and merge them together in a revival ritual?" Siho locked his door and tossed away his Commander's headpiece, "The one who is supposed to be the vessel is supposed to have a marking...what marking though, it could be anything?"

"Why don't you try taking off your shirt and looking in the mirror, Little One,"

Siho nearly jumped out of his skin, eyes closed, "Okay...if that's you, V, that's a _real_ bad joke,"

"Aw, he's not in right now, Little One...c'mon, open your eyes and face me for once,"

Without resisting, Siho's eyes popped open and he saw a dark figure relaxing on his bunk bed, flipping through some of his comic books.

He frowned, "Okay, two things. One, you're not real, and two, ya mind putting down my comics, those are rare! I don't think they make those anymore!"

The Dark Man chuckled as he closed the graphic novel, the book hiding his face, "Not a bad series. _Tales from the Crypt_ huh? I've been here with you for sometime, and I've only read half of your collection, but I gotta say, I love them. I wish I could've had this sort of justice where I come from...,"

"Whatever...," Siho ran a hand through his black hair, "All I gotta do is take my meds, and you're gone...,"

Siho started to move towards his desk but when he moved an inch, the Dark Man waved his hand idly and flung him against the wall. Siho hit the wall hard and slid to the floor, letting out a stifled gasp.

"If I wasn't real, could I have done _that_?" the other being asked, hanging his leg over Siho's mattress, "Now, be a good boy and get ready for the duel against the remaining Cocytus member," he snapped, tossing a small wooden box to him, "Use these,"

Siho glanced at the box after dodging it, "No way in hell...I know what's in there-,"

"So you know what good it can do,"

"-...and I know what bad mojo it's brought people. I heard alot of stories about these cards, and I ain't usin' them,"

The Dark Man sighed and rose off of Siho's bed, his face coming into the light. Siho cringed at what he saw, "Holy sh-,"

"Surprised?" the Dark Man ran a finger over his face, "Don't blame you...not many people can look at these and not stare. But enough about me, put those in,"

"Screw you,"

"I said put them in!"

"Kiss my ass!"

The Dark Man shook his head, sighing loudly, "Guess we're gonna hafta do this the hard way, huh? God, why is it I always get stuck with the innocent losers...?"

Siho watched as the Dark Man's hand glowed with a black aura, "Oh...uh...didn't know you could do that,"

"That's because you always thought I was just an imaginary friend!"

Those were the last words Siho heard before he blacked out.

-----

_I gotta find her! I gotta know if it was really **her**!_

Syrus wandered around the Slifer dorm building that night as a bonfire roared nearby.

Gasps and hoots made Syrus turn to see Mindy, Jasmine, Alexis and Jordan posing in their Harpie costumes.

"Check it out guys, Harpie Family in da house!"

"No pictures though, Lexi won't allow it...,"

"You wouldn't either if you had a big bro like mine...,"

"Damn straight, Lex!"

"Jordy!"

"Sorry...,"

_Oh well, I guess you're gone_ Syrus looked up at the stars in the night sky as he took a seat on an empty log, _I just wanted to say that you made me remember how much fun dueling can be. You made us all remember..._

"Thank you, Dark Magician Girl. I won't forget you,"

Jaden watched from a short distance away, and saw that Syrus had a little company with him. The Dark Magician Girl was sitting right next to him, only in spirit form.

"I won't forget you either, Sy," she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, "and I'm sure we'll meet up again someday," she promised before vanishing.

Syrus' eyes popped open as he felt the kiss on his cheek. Smiling, he stood up, "Okay, time for bed. I think I'm starting to hallucinate,"

"That makes two of us, 'cuz I saw her, too, Syrus," Jaden smiled, walking up beside his friend.

"Saw who?" Syrus laughed nervously, "There's nobody here, you must've been seeing things!"

Jaden shook his head and looked up to the sky to see Dark Magician Girl floating above them, smiling.

"Alright, you win Syrus, there was no one here," he sighed, "But I think that 'no one' has a crush on you, Sy,"

Syrus looked at him, eyes filled with happiness, "You mean you _did _see her! She was real, and you know what that means?" he held up the victory sign, "I got my first kiss!"

"Oh, God, Truesdale, that's just sad,"

Syrus and Jaden turned and nearly fell over. Bastion was on all fours, tears rolling down his face as Christina sat on his back, tugging at the costume collar that came with his Tiger outfit.

"If that's your first kiss, then you're a bigger nerd than I thought,"

"Christina...please...get off of me. My back can't take it...,"

Christina growled and whopped Bastion over the head, "You callin' me fat?!"

"N-no, I'm not calling you fat at all! Although, honestly, I think you could lose a few pounds...,"

_WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP_

"Now, go! Take me to the dueling arena nearby!"

The other Slifers gulped and watched as Bastion slowly crawled away, head covered in lumps.

"Man, Chrissy's violent...," Syrus murmured.

Jaden nodded, "Guess we learned a lesson here. Never tell a girl she could lose a few pounds,"

-----

"Happy Birthday, Kairi,"

The blonde Slifer looked up to see Khamille holding out a cupcake with a lit candle in the middle.

"How'd you know...?,"

Khamille shrugged, "You'd be amazed at what some hacking skills can get you," she said casually as she sat down next to her, "Why didn't you tell anyone about Duel Spirit Day being on your birthday?"

"What, and be the emo kid who says it's her birthday to get attention? No thanks," she took the cupcake and blew out the candle though, "Appreciate it though,"

"No problem...I just figured you could use some good feelings and stuff," Khamille put her head on hers, "Feel better?"

"A little,"

"Good," she took Kairi's hand and squeezed it a little, "No matter what happens, Kairi, you can always count on us to help you out. I think your father would love it that you have friends like us...Happy Birthday,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Ok, that's over. First off, lemme say a few things.**

**(1) Hope the duel was good. It was actually first real duel I've written about that had RFG (remove from game) cards.**

**(2) This chapter is dedicated to Wolfen-Ways, Kairi's owner. She's a good friend of mine who I've known ever since I started out, and I hope that this chapter was good. Honestly, I did it the best I could. so...heheheheh. Gomen if it sucks.**

**Ja ne, folks! Sorry for da wait!**


	64. Lord, I Was Born to be a Gamblin' Man

**Lord, I Was Born to be a Gamblin' Man.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

They say that gambling can be a fun thing...or a very bad habit. It depends on how plays, and how they control the urge to play. Either way, in a gamble, at least _one_ person always loses.

-----

Late one night, as stars blanketed the night sky, a large, private boat sailed across the black sea, lights dotting the sides, showing occupied rooms. One room in particular, was occupied by a trio of card players and a few lovely ladies who sat on a couch nearby. But the thing was...this was a poker game, and _not_ Duel Monsters.

"I call...," one of the players, a burly man with slicked dark hair laid his hand onto the table. His opponent, a young man with brown hair, with square glasses and wearing a white suit looked down to see all of his cards were the suit of hearts.

"A flush," the burly man chuckled and began to pull the large pile of poker chips, "Looks like, finally, the Gambler has lost a game,"

"I don't think so, _mon ami_,"

The burly man watched as his opponent tossed a bright red handkerchief onto the pile of chips, as well as his hands.

His opponent spread out his own hand to show that he had a royal flush, the higher set in this game.

"I win again, no?"

-----

Sometime after his victory, the Gambler stood out on the deck, leaning on the railing, looking out at the vast sea. A soft noise and the sound of footsteps made him turn slightly.

"Good game in there,"

It was his opponent from the match.

The burly man walked up to his side, looking out at the sea, "I don't think I've ever seen such a fine gambler. Congratulations,"

"_Merci_," the brunette smiled, enjoying the taste of egotism.

"But my friend...," the burly man pointed to a large island in the distance, "...if you want a _true _challenge, check out the island on our portside. It happens to be the most famous dueling school on the planet. Home of the very best of the best,"

"Duel Academy?" the Gambler glanced at the man, smiling, "In that case, _au revoir_,"

"And just where are you going?"

"Where else?"

A short time later, the Gambler was skipping along the waves of the dark ocean on a jet ski as the ship became smaller and smaller behind him.

_Finally, the opportunity to challenge the only person who's gotten the best of me. Duel Academy, prepare yourself for the Gambler!_

-----

"Nice night...,"

"Yep...,"

"Hi Jaden, hey Chrissy,"

The two Slifers turned around to see Alexis and Jordan walking up to them.

"Hey guys," Jaden waved at them.

Alexis waved back, "Sy said you two would be here. What are you doing?"

Christina shrugged and looked back at the ocean, "Just chillin', talkin' about stuff,"

Jaden nodded, "I just thought it'd be nice to take a breather from this 'saving the world' and Shadow Rider stuff for awhile,"

"Has there been any news about Professor Banner?" Jordan asked, standing behind them.

Jaden shook his head as a low roar was heard, "No...unless...," he looked down to see a jet ski approach the beach below, "That's him now!"

-----

Shephard and Crowler had some strange visitors before, but nothing like this young man in a white suit who wanted something that they never thought anyone would ask like this.

Crowler frowned at the visitor, "Would you mind _repeating_ that?" he hissed.

The Gambler smiled, putting a hand into his pants pocket, "I want to duel your school's _bon_ student: Alexis Rhodes,"

"And _why_ should we agree?"

"Because," the young man reached into his jacket and pulled out a card, holding it out for Crowler to take.

Said teacher snatched it away and raised an eyebrow at the words scrawled on the back of it, "_The Gambler_...? What is this?" he demanded.

"It is, I guess you can call, my calling card...and I _always_ get what I want," he eyed Crowler, "So, where is she?"

Shepard cleared his throat, "Listen. My school is _not_ a gambling parlor! I don't care who you are on the outside, but when you come here to my academy, you obey my rules. Got it?" he warned as Crowler nodded in agreement.

"_Monsieur_," the Gambler placed a hand on Shephards desk and leaned in, "Either call her, or I swear on my honor that I will make things most uncomfortable for you and your friends,".

Just then, the automatic door to the office opened up, causing the three men to look and find no one standing outside the room before the door closed on it's on.

Outside, Syrus, Chumley, Khamille and Kairi, along with some other Slifers were pressed up against the wall, eavesdropping.

"Hey guys, what's this? Dorm meeting?"

Syrus and Khamille turned to see Jordan, Christina, Jaden and Alexis walking up to them, and raised their fingers, "SHHHH!"

"Can't you tell?" Syrus hissed, pointing to the door, "We're trying to spy in there!"

"Oh, well if that's the case, get Siho in on this, he's great at that," Christina looked at the group, "Where is he?"

"Back at the dorm," Chumley whispered, "He's been crashing out lately...I think he might be coming down with something,"

Alexis looked at the door, "Who are you guys spying on?"

Inside the office, the three men turned at the sound of the door hissing open, but once again, nothing was there.

Outside, Jaden and the other three were presssed up against the wall like the others, glad they weren't caught. Christina noticed that both Jordan and Alexis had a weird look on their faces.

"Psst...you guys okay?"

Back inside...

"Well, _mon ami_, call her or things go bad," the Gambler threatened.

Shephard frowned, "I said _no_. Now, leave peacefully or I'll have you thrown out!"

The Gambler's face matched the Chancellor's frown, "I think I detect a bluff!"

"Oh, do you?" Crowler asked as the two side doors to the office opened up and the Disciplinary Action Squad troop marched in.

**(Author's Note: Get ready, ya'll, it's time for some X-Men Gambit action here!)**

The Gambler backed away as the group closed in on him, but as they began to tighten their grid, he jumped high into the air away from them and from his jacket, he threw numerous cards at them, striking them in various body parts. Even Crowler became a victim when a card struck his pants, making them drop to his knees.

**(Author's Note: Gambit time over...-points to Crowler part- Now it's time for some therapy, because that just scarred me for life)**

"Shephard," the Gambler plopped himself on the Chancellor's desk, waving his red handkerchief idly, "I'm not leaving until you get her,"

The door hissed opened again and two certain people walked in, staring hard at him while the DAS members were recovering.

"Well, you haven't grown up too much," Alexis said evenly.

Jordan nodded, "Didn't see him doing that in the first place," he said with a shrug.

The Gambler looked at the two of them, first Alexis, then Jordan...then back to Alexis, "My my...you two have," he observed.

"Quit the compliments, Pierre," Alexis snapped, pulling out her Spirit Key, "You're here because you want something. Probably whatever I value most, like this Spirit Key or maybe my duel deck? I know that _you_ don't have anything I want,"

Pierre chuckled and hopped off the desk, holding up his handkerchief, "Oh, but I do and you know it. It once belonged to you,"

"Only until you stole it you thief!" Jordan snapped at him, hands curling into fists.

"Well, then. I know you want it, and I'm very sure you'll duel for it!"

Alexis and Jordan glared at him as he stuffed the red fabric into his front pocket.

"Lemme take him Lex," Jordan whispered.

Alexis shook her head, "No...he's mine,"

-----

"So, who is this stiff, and why does he have it in for Alexis?"

Jaden and the others stood in outer area of the duel arena while Shephard and Crowler took two seats in the stands as Alexis and Pierre inserted their duel decks.

Christina looked to Jordan, whose foot was tapping up and down, most likely because of his nerves riding on this duel.

"Just watch...," he muttered before Christina even had a chance to ask him if he knew anything about this.

"Shall we, my _cherie_?" Pierre smugly as his duel disk whirred to life.

Alexis grinned, "Bring it!"

"DUEL!"

**A: 4000  
P: 4000**

"My draw!" Pierre drew his card and placed it on his disk, "I invoke Gamble Angel Bunny (1200/1200) in attack mode!"

What appeared on the field, looked like a cross between a Playboy Bunny and some kind of anime cosplayer, because it was an attractive girl with long brown hair, fake bunny paw gloves and feet, matching ears, and a skimpy black outfit that not only complimented her visor shades, but didn't leave much to the imagination.

Syrus smiled, face going red, "Wow...look at her...,"

"Easy, Sy," Jaden smiled and shook his head, "You don't wanna go and make the Dark Magician Girl jealous, do ya?"

Syrus' face fell and his eyes went wide, "She here?"

"BUNNY!"

Everyone in the crowd jumped at the new voice. They turned around to see Siho standing behind them, practically drooling like Syrus was moments before.

Christina looked at him, then at the door, "How the _hell_ did you know we were here, and how the hell did you get here so fast?"

Siho raised a fist proudly, "My porn senses were tingling!"

"I thought you called that your pecker," his best friend hissed, sweatdropping while the others turned back to the duel.

"Don't matter what I call it, the point is...," he pointed to the Angel Bunny, "HOT GIRL IN BUNNY OUTFIT!"

"I'll place this card facedown, then I'll activate my Angel Bunny's effect," Pierre declared as he inserted a card into his disk, "I toss a coin, and guess heads or tails," he held up a gold coin, "If I call correctly, you lose 1000 Life Points. If I guess wrong, _I_ lose 1000 Life Points. This is heads," he showed a side that looked like a knockoff of a certain eye symbol, then turned it to show a single dot on the other side, "and this is tails,".

Alexis looked at the coin and nodded, "Alright...,"

"Tell me, do you feel lucky, Alexis?" Pierre asked before flipping the coin high into the air. Everyone watched as the coin rose, then descended onto Pierre's hand. Without moving his hand, Pierre smiled, "Tails,"

He moved his hand and the coin was heads.

"Wrong-o, boyo," Christina grinned.

Pierre's smile only widened, "I think I'll go again,"

Alexis blinked at his words, "You'll wha-?"

"Hey, that's against the rules!" Syrus yelled out to him.

"Oh _contrare_, I play this!" Pierre pressed a button on his disk and his facedown was revealed, "It's called Second Coin Toss and it lets me toss again. What's more, is that I can use it once per turn until it's destroyed,"

Jaden frowned, "Oh no...Alexis is in trouble,"

"She's fine...," Jordan crossed his arms, "She beat this thievin' cheat once before, she can and _will_ do it again,"

Pierre flipped his coin again and caught it, "Tails," he looked under his hand and smiled, "I win! Now, Gamble Angel Bunny, you're ability activates!" he eyed Alexis, "Think of it this way, _cherie_, you finally hit the Jackpot!"

The Bunny raised her paw to the sky and Alexis covered herself as a shower of solid gold coins rained down on her, taking a chunk of points out.

**A: 3000  
P: 4000**

_Ok, Alexis, pull it together..._she thought, glaring at the white-suited duelist.

"For _mon finale,_ I'll lay down a facedown card," Pierre finished, slipping another card into his disk.

"Now it's my turn!" Alexis drew her card, "I summon Cyber Tutu (1000/800) in attack mode!".

Alexis' trademark dancer monster appeared, twirling on her tiptoes.

"Check this out, if you don't have any monsters that are weaker than my dancer here, she gets to pull a pirouette on your face!"

Siho turned to Jordan, "Dude, your cousin may be hot, but I think she could use some anger management classes...,"

"Now, Cyber Tutu, attack him directly with Pounding Pirouette!"

Pierre reached down and pressed a button on his disk as Cyber Tutu created a cyclone as she spun, "I play my facedown...Fairy Box! This can be activated whenever you attack me. I toss my pretty coin into the air and if I call it right, your damage goes to zero!" he explained as he flipped his coin into the air again, "Heads!"

He moved his hand away to show that it wasn't heads.

Syrus grinned, "Hey, it's tails!"

Jaden glanced at him, "For _now_...,"

"Jaden, you are correct," Pierre smiled, "I play Second Coin Toss once more. Remember, I get to flip my coin again...heads!"

Alexis scowled as, this time, the coin was heads up, then watched as her Tutu's cyclone wind down. She inserted a card into a slot, "I'll place this card facedown and end my turn...,"

"And I shall now end this duel!"

The blonde Obelisk stared at the Gambler, then shook her head, smiling a little, "You haven't changed one bit,"

"You watch your tongue!" Pierre snapped at her.

"C'mon, Frenchy!" Jordan leaned onto the platform, "You're still that wimpy, scared kid from school!"

Pierre glared at him, "Shut up! I'm not scared, I'm a winner!" he turned to Alexis, "Remember?! I never lost a game, except to you!"

Jaden, Chumley, Khamille, Christina, Siho, Syrus and Kairi looked at one another, shrugged, then turned to the Rhodes.

"Mind fillin' in the peanut gallery?" Jaden asked them.

Alexis nodded, "With pleasure. It all started when the three of us were real young,"

-Flashback-

_**"You were the new student. No friends, no clue, just a cute smile. But we all pitched in and made you feel welcome. We were you new family, and how did you treat your new brothers and sisters? You ripped us off, one by one!"**_

_"Alexis, I just love your scarf!"_

_Alexis looked up from a scarlet scarf that she held in her hands, "Thanks, it was my mothers...,"_

_"I won! I beat you!"_

_Alexis and her friend turned to see Jordan hold up a shiny, red toy car._

_"I guess I get this, huh?"_

_Pierre nodded, "Oui. So," he held up another toy from his side of the table, "Double or nothing?"_

**_"You just had so much money and so many toys, that you kept gambling, and gambling, and gambling until they finally lost! You ended up taking everything from everybody and I wasn't gonna let you get away with it,"_**

_Alexis walked over to his desk, which was not littered with numerous toys, "Alright, Pierre, give those things back!"_

_"Only if you beat me...," Pierre shot back, turning to her, then eyed the scarf in her pocket, "But first you must wager. How about the scarf? It's very pretty, no?"_

_"Fine, you're on...but we play Duel Monsters!"_

_"Duel...Monsters?"_

_(Some time later)_

_Alexis smiled as she placed her monster down across from Pierre's weaker monster, "I win!"_

_Pierre growled, glaring at her, "You cheated!" he said accusingly._

_Alexis shrugged as she gathered her cards, "Just gotta know how to play tha game. I'd be happy to teach you," she offered, rising from her seat._

_"You can't leave!" Pierre protested, then looked down at her pocket, "Not before I take this!" he reached out and swiped the red scarf from her jacket, "So who is the loser now?"_

_Before she could do anything, Pierre bolted from the classroom, scarf held tight in his hand while Alexis cried._

_-_End Flashback-

"You stole it...a gift that my mom gave me. It was her favorite scarf," Alexis stared Pierre down, "You know why? Because you're _not _a gambler, you're a thief, and crooks like you always go down!"

Pierre scoffed, "_Tres bien..._but of course," he pulled out the scarf, "Your scarf has become...," he lightly kissed the fabric, "...my favorite good luck charm,"

Alexis raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well, not for long,"

"DAMN STRAIGHT! AS SOON AS THIS IS OVER, I'M KICKING YOUR FRENCH ASS FROM HERE TO AMERICA FOR STEALING HER SCARF AND MAKING HER CRY LIKE THAT!"

Alexis smiled at Jordan's outburst, "Normally, Jordy, I would scold you for cursing like that, but since this guy _did_ take something precious from me and has the nerve to show up...after I beat him, you can do what you want,"

"YESH!"

Christina, Kairi and Khamille sweatdropped, thinking the same thing.

_Boys are always so violent..._

"Hm," Pierre tucked the scarf back into his pocket, "I don't need luck to beat you," he drew his card, "Now, I'll pay 500 Life Points to keep my Fairy Box on the field...,"

**A: 3000  
P: 3500**

"Next, I'll play my Bunny's special ability," he declared, flipping the gold coin again, "Heads!".

He caught the coin and looked at it. Tails.

"Alright, once again!" he tossed the coin yet again and caught it, "Tails!" he looked under his hand and smiled widely, "Correct!"

Once again, Alexis was bombarded by a shower of solid gold coins.

**A: 2000  
P: 3500**

"Now, I shall summon my Angel Bunny's cute twin," Pierre slapped a card onto his disk and an identical girl in a bunny outfit appeared on the field.

"MELLORINE! MELLORINE!"

Christina, Kairi and Khamille turned to see Siho swaying back and forth, blood slowly oozing out of his nostrils.

"Oi, Sanji-wannabe!".

In unison, all three of them whopped him over the head, giving him three large lumbs, but in the process, making him stop.

"Now, my Angel Bunny, attack her Cyber Tutu!"

Alexis watched as the Bunny hopped into the air and began to descend onto her dancer, _He's not using her special ability..._ she thought before pressing a button on her disk, "Not so fast! I play my facedown...Doubl'e Pass'e! Check it out, this card sends all that damage to me instead, and then you take damage equal to Cyber Tutu's attack points!" she explained as a maelstrom of holo-cards whizzed past her.

**A: 800  
P: 3500**

She looked up, holding her arm, "Go, Cyber Tutu, get him!"

The dancer monster nodded and began to spin rapidly, sending strong winds that blew hard into Pierre and his monsters.

**A: 800  
P: 2500**

Pierre regained his composure, "I'm far from finished! Now, my other Angel Bunny attacks your dancing dolt!" he cried as his Angel Bunny sent her own flurry of cards onto Cyber Tutu, destroying her.

**A: 600  
P: 2500**

"You're mine now, _chere!_"

Alexis glared at him, "It all comes down to this," she murmured as she drew her card, "First, I'll place a card facedown, then I play my Spell card, Scapegoat! This card lets me summon four sheep tokens (0/0) in defense mode!" she explained.

A whimper made the three girls in the audience turn again, but they looked down to see Siho curled up in a ball, face very pale.

"Never leave the dorm...never leave the dorm...never leave the dorm...,"

"He gonna be okay?" Khamille looked at Christina, who shrugged.

"Meh...consider it karma for oggling holographic Playboy Bunny wannabes," she reasoned, turning back to the duel.

Again, Pierre scoffed at her move, "You're only extending your play, _cherie_, and not even by that long. Now let's dance! I pay 500 more points to keep my Fairy Box here...,"

**A: 600  
P: 2000**

"Now, I'll summon Sand Gambler (300/1600) in attack mode!"

A new monster, one that looked disturbingly like Pierre appeared between the Angel Bunnies.

"See, with him on the field, I get to toss this coin," he held up the all-too-familiar gold coin, "and it comes up heads three times in a row, all your monsters are _fini_! But, if I get tails, then all _my _monsters will bid you a fond _au revoir_,"

"Three heads?" Jaden tilted his head, "There's _no_ way!"

"Technically...," Syrus slowly nodded, "He _could_,"

"Shall we, _cherie_?" Pierre flipped the coin.

It was heads.

"If I get two more, your beasts go bye!" he chuckled, flipping the coin again.

It was tails.

"Hold on, don't you forget my card," Pierre flipped the coin again as his Second Coin Toss card glowed a little bit.

Heads again.

"That makes two and...," Pierre flipped the coin for the final time.

Heads.

He smiled, "Third time's a charm. _Who_ is the lucky one?"

"Not Lex," Jaden muttered.

Syrus shook his head, "No way...,"

"Sand Gambler, do your thing! Destroy all her monsters!"

Pierre's monster counter-part glowed with a blue aura and everyone watched as Alexis' sheep tokens blew up, one by one.

"I love it when things come together," Pierre chuckled as the smoke cleared, "Look at me! I'm unbeatable!"

_We'll see about that_ Alexis thought, as she pressed a button on her duel disk, "I reveal my facedown, Hallowed Life Barrier! If I discard just _one_ card from my hand, all damage I take from this turn goes to zero!" she explained as she tossed a card into her Graveyard.

"Lucky move," Pierre scoffed again, "All for nought!"

"We'll see about that!" Alexis drew her card, _I tried to be your friend, Pierre, I tried to teach you the game that I love, but you just used it to be a thief, and now you're about to get a lesson that's long overdue!_

She held up a card, "I play the Spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive, which allows me to bring back a Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it back into my hand," she reached down and took a card, only to place it on the field, "Welcome back, Cyber Tutu!" she greeted as her ballerina monster reappeared, spinning on her toes.

"That's not all! I play the Spell card, Prima Light!" she held up another card, "By sacrificing Cyber Tutu, I get to summon Cyber Prima (2300/1600)!"

A new monster, one wearing (what appeared to be) a skintight gray catsuit appeared, a strange mask over her eyes, and her platinum locks flowing behind the red mask.

"When she's summoned, her special ability destroys all Spell cards on the field!"

Pierre watched in dismay as his Second Coin Toss was blasted into smithereens.

"Now, with only your Sand Gambler hanging around to defend you, and when I decide to attack you, it'll finally be my turn to say _au revoir_!" Alexis smiled confidently.

"_Excuse'_! I still have my Fairy Box Trap card!" Pierre reminded her, "If I choose my coin toss right one more time, no damage comes from you and then my Sand Gambler destroys you!"

Alexis giggled a little bit, "It all comes down to this then...a single coin toss, because your Second Coin Toss was destroyed. I was wondering why you weren't using your second Gamble Angel Bunny's special ability. Then I got it...it was clear. You couldn't risk it, without your Second Coin Toss, you'd have lost everytime!"

"Be quiet!" Pierre roared.

"You're not a winner," Alexis shook her head, "Pierre, you're not even a gambler! You're just a scared kid back in school. Now...," she pointed to the weakest monster on his field, "Cyber Prima, attack Sand Gambler!" she ordered.

Pierre stepped back as Cyber Prima created her own cyclone and quickly moved towards him. He grit his teeth, "It comes down to this...," he flipped his coin high into the air and caught it, "Tails...please," he begged.

"Sorry, but if you play too much, the house _will_ win, Pierre,"

Pierre looked down and was horrified that he had called the wrong coin side...it was Heads!"

"Cyber Prima, finish him off!"

**A: 600  
P: 0**

Pierre fell to one knee as his Bunny ladies disappeared from the field, "You just got lucky!" he yelled, not wanting to admit defeat, "..._femme fatale,_"

"Pierre, I beat you because I don't believe in luck," Alexis explained as her disk de-activated, "I work hard, and I play even harder. _That's_ why I won! Luck is a loser's excuse!"

"HEY!" Christina glared at her, "Luck works with me, and I'm not a loser!"

"So says the chick that lost to Jordan at least twice," Siho muttered, earning himself a swift kick in the groin afterward.

As Alexis turned and walked away, Pierre bowed his head and pulled out th red scarf from his pocket, "I'm sorry, _desiree_, but the only reason I wanted to duel you...is because I am in love with you,"

Alexis stopped in mid-step, her eyes widening a little while Jordan glared at Pierre more and more.

"I thought if I beat you, that maybe you would fall in love with me, Alexis...,"

The Queen of Obelisk Blue turned around just in time to catch her mother's red scarf, which Pierre had tossed seconds before.

"I guess this is farewell," Pierre sighed, but quickly brightened, "Unless of course, you would want to come with me? Please?"

Alexis shook her head as she tucked the scarf into her pocket, "No...,"

Pierre sighed again, "Very well..._adieu_," he turned and began to walk away...only to get tackled by Jordan.

Everyone watched as Jordan went beserk, executing some complex looking punching moves on Pierre. Painful and terrified yelps echoed around the arena while the others watched, not sure what to make of it.

Christina turned to Alexis, "Should we stop him?"

Alexis shook her head, "No...I told him he could do what he wanted. Besides, when we were younger, Pierre stole his comic book...it was his favorite issue, too,"

"Oh...hey, speaking of which," Khamille grinned and turned, "Siho, mind if I borrow those _Tales from the Crypt _comics?" she asked, before noticing that Siho wasn't with them anymore. She looked around and scratched her head, "Where'd he go?"

Christina shrugged, "Probably back to the dorm room...,"

-----

Siho walked down the moonlit path, holding something that glowed a purple light. In his hand, were the three crystals that he snagged from Caina, Antenora's slimy remains, and Ptolomea when he was unconcious.

_Three are down, one to go. I wonder what kind of power this guy has, if he's the strongest of the four..._ Siho stopped and looked at the moon, the wind blowing his dark hair a little, _...but I gotta make sure that whatever they got planned, won't come to fruition._

As Siho began to walk again, a figure in black stepped out onto the path, watching him from behind. The figure pushed his round glasses over his steel-blue eyes as his silvery-hair flew around him, a cruel smile on his face.

"When the seventh begins his work...that's when you'll become our god's flesh, Siho Zolaro. I expect a great duel from you,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: DUN DUN DUN...well, this chapter ish down and done with. Hopefully, you all liked it. Now, the next one will be mixed. Confused? If so, just wait around and see what I mean. Ja ne, folks!**


	65. The Final Hurdle: The Worst to Come

**The Final Hurdle: The Worst to Come**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Aw man, we overslept!"

"That means we'll miss out on breakfast!"

Jaden, Siho, Syrus, and Chumley rushed into the Slifer Red mess hall to see a few plates still left at a vacant table, while the rest of the mess hall was empty. Save Chazz and Ptolomea, who sat on different sides of the room.

"Whew, still some left," Jaden sighed, sitting down, "Alright...,"

"Let's dig in," Syrus suggested as the four sat down...to bare plates.

Jaden tipped his cup over, "Not much left...,"

Siho growled, looking under the table, "Someone jokin' with us?!"

"No, we've been cleaned out!" Syrus groaned.

"What kind of selfish slime would do that?" Chumley asked the others, who already knew the answer.

One by one, the four of them gathered around Chazz's table as the ebony haired Slifer enjoyed his morning drink.

Chazz glanced at them and smiled, "You snooze, you lose,"

"That's it!" Syrus slammed his hands down on the table and leaned in, "Give us back our food or I'm telling!"

"I _would _give it back, only I ate it all," Chazz pointed out, "So, no luck. Unless you want the crap in a few hours," he offered.

That did it.

"Professor...!"

"Banner!"

"Chazz is being Chazz again!"

"And he shocked Pharaoh with a taser!"

The four boys looked towards the curtain doorway where Banner would usually walk through, but unfortunately, he didn't come through. Kairi did.

"Sorry, guys, but he's not here," she greeted quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jaden frowned, "You mean he's _still_ MIA?"

Kairi nodded, "Yep...sorry, boys, but until he gets here...," she looked at Chazz, "Rich boy can't get punished, unless the big guy wants to throttle him?" she asked hopefully, looking at Ptolomea.

The large man waved them off, drinking a large cup of soda.

"Huh...guess that's a no," Siho turned to Chazz, "You lucky sonofa-rich guy,"

-----

Later that morning, in Alchemy class, Jaden laid his head on his desk while everyone else talked about random things around him. He couldn't shake the bad feeling that was around him. His friends noticed his behavior and decided to try and make him feel better.

"It's okay, Jaden," Syrus leaned over, looking at him.

Chumley followed his friend's movement, "Yeah, Shephard's got a buncha people out lookin' for Professor Banner. They'll find him!"

"That's right!" Christina leaned back, looking up at him, "So chill out and enjoy the free time, man! Cuz nothin' can ruin this in any-,"

"Good morning, students,"

Christina yelped and fell out of her chair as everyone looked ahead to see Crowler standing in front of the crowd, holding a planner book under his arm. Christina quickly picked herself up and took her seat again.

Crowler raised an eyebrow slightly as he moved to the center of the room, "Due to Professor Banner's absence, I will be your substitute teacher for the day. Aren't you lucky?" he muttered the last part as he placed the book on the podium, "Because I'm certainly not! It was supposed to be my day off!"

After a short time of cursing and complaining, Crowler placed a large paperboard on the wall behind him. On the board, a large, black, nearly complete circle with a dot was drawn in marker.

"Let's see...," Crowler flipped through Banner's planner, "Ah yes, the mark of Amnael. So that's where he left off, more alchemy nonsense, I see. Well, according to these tomes, the basis of this are...," Crowler frowned at the text, "Well...not that, and I can't even make _that_ word out...,"

Christina leaned over to Siho, "Hey, betcha he freaks out," she whispered. Siho could only chuckle and nod.

Sure enough, Crowler slammed the books closed, frustrated, "This is _gibberish_, and he's _teaching_ you it!" he shook his head, "Maybe it's a good thing he's gone, I mean, he's been poisoning your young minds...,"

Jaden couldn't help but grin, "He _hates_ this stuff!"

Syrus smiled nervously as the teacher ranted, "Actually, Jay, I think it's that he doesn't understand this stuff himself...,"

After a short time of Crowler cursing, complaining and ranting, things settled down.

He held up a curved metal utensil and held it above a jar of clear liquid, "Alright, time for lab work...according to the syllabus, anyway," he mumbled, dipping the utensil into the liquid, "I think this is right...?"

The answer came quickly as the jar exploded, sending a small cloud of smoke into the air. The cloud wafted away and everyone saw Crowler's forehead was now branded with the utensil, the sound of sizzling meat dancing in the air.

Jaden let out a quiet laugh as Crowler screamed in both pain and anger, ranting about how useless Duel Alchemy was to him.

He sighed and propped his head on his arm, "I sure wish Professor Banner was still here...,"

Syrus nodded, "True...but to be honest, _he_ also blew himself up a few good times too,"

"True...,"

"Mister Slifer Slacker!"

Jaden shot out of his seat, "Y-Yessir?"

Crowler looked straight at him, the mark burned into his forehead, "Chancellor Shephard would like a word with you,"

"Uh...me?" Jaden repeated slowly.

The Obelisk Head nodded and pointed to certain members in the group, including both Siho and Christina, "The rest of the gang too,"

"WHOO!" Christina hopped up, a large smile on her face, "SCOOBY GANG!" she grabbed Siho by the collar, "C'mon, Shaggy!"

"W-What the?! Chrissy, leggo!"

"I said c'mon, you sad, dog-food eatin' hippie!"

**(Author's note: Thank you, Robot Chicken...)**

-----

"What do you mean 'he's still lost', Professor Banner couldn't have just disappeared!"

Shephard frowned as he looked at the crowd of students that stood around his table, "I'm sorry, but the bottom line is that we've searched everywhere and we can't find him,"

"And there's no log of him leaving the island...," Crowler added, trailing off.

Chazz shrugged, "Well...if that's the case, then we all know what happened...Banner got sucked into the Shadows,"

Alexis glared at him, "Don't say that!"

Shephard shook his head, "No...you see, if he _was_ taken, a Spirit Gate would've opened, and there has been no new activity,"

"Uh...that's...not _entirely_ true,"

The bald man looked at Christina who was smiling a little, nervously, "Oh?"

Nodding, Christina pulled out the Spirit Gate Key into view, causing everyone around her, except Siho, to stare.

Shephard frowned deeply at her, "May I ask as to how _you_ got came into possession of that, Christina?" he asked slowly.

"Uh...well...you see, it wasn't too long ago," Christina said quickly, stuffing the key back into it's hiding place, "One night, he called me into his office. I thought it was because I was a little behind on my homework, but he said that he thought I was more capable of guarding this then he was,"

Crowler snarled a little, "So...he deliberately _gave_ the Key _he_ was supposed to protect, to a Slifer who can barely defeat one Ra!"

Christina glared at him, "Hey, you shouldn't be talking Mr I-Got-Turned-Into-A-Doll!" she snapped at him, "If Banner said I was capable of protecting this Key, then I don't need approval from a transvestite teacher who lost his key in his very first Shadow Game!"

The room became very, very, _very_ quiet as Crowler's face turned red.

Siho leaned over to Chazz, "Holy shit, dude...," he whispered. Chazz nodded, eyes wide at Christina's outburst.

"Anyway, even if she has Banner's Key," Jaden stepped forward a bit, "I think that the Shadow Riders are still involved somehow. Maybe, they thought he still had the Key and beat him, but were mad that they couldn't find it," he shrugged, "I dunno for sure, but we _gotta_ find out!"

Shephard nodded, "Yes, indeed. Now, I know we have the final four keys to protect, but we also have the worries about this Cocytus group that have been popping up with the Shadow Riders at times," he looked at Siho and Christina, "What do you know about them?"

Siho sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, we know they're a second division of the Seven Riders, and that there were four of them-,"

"_Were_ four?" Crowler raised an eyebrow, "Mind explaining that?"

"Sure. Christina, Jordan, and I have beaten three of the four, meaning that there is one more left out there, the same number of remaining Shadow Riders. Now, I dunno if we'll run into the final one soon, but either way, we have a good chance of taking 'em down,"

Shephard leaned back into his desk chair, looking sternly at the two Slifers, then over at Crowler, whose face was still red.

"I don't like it, and I have a bad feeling about this," he sighed, "But watch yourselves...,"

-----

"So, he's hunting for me? Interesting,"

"...brother, are you going to make him pay for my humilation?"

"Yes, Caina...I will. Oh, believe me, I will. Luckily, his friends shouldn't interfere because our remaining comrade will begin his own kind of hunting,"

"What about Ptolomea?"

"...I'll deal with him, don't worry, sister, don't worry,"

-----

"I can' believe we're out here...,"

"Blame Chazz,"

"Oh, I am...I _am_,"

"My feet hurt,"

"I'm hungry...,"

Chazz stopped walking and turned, glaring at the group behind him. Kairi, Khamille, Christina, Siho, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley stood behind him, looking surprised that they had stopped.

"WOULD YOU GUYS QUIT COMPLAINING?! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING?!" he screamed.

Khamille huffed and put her hands on her hips, "Yeah...you know what you're doing, just like you knew that Miss Dorothy was the final Shadow Rider," she murmured, "Great deduction, Sherlock...I'm gonna have a weird image everytime I see her now," she shook her head, frowning.

Kairi put her hands behind her head, "What are we doing out here, anyway? I thought Shephard said that they couldn't find him anywhere?"

Chazz smiled and held up a stick with a fuzzy white end on it, "Easy. With this cat toy, we'll just find Pharaoh. We find Pharaoh, we find Banner!"

Jaden sighed, "Didn't you try that already on Duel Spirit Day, Chazz?" he murmured.

"Anyone got a better idea?" Chazz snapped.

Syrus raised his hand, "I got one! Instead of _calling_ out to Pharaoh, how about we go with a different approach?" he suggested, taking out a black marker.

Everyone watched as Syrus' hands moved in a blur for a few moments, then the Slifer backed away, smiling widely at his work, "_Now_, Pharaoh will think that _you're_ a cat...now, you just need a convincing meow...,"

Khamille, Kairi, and Christina practically fell over laughing at the sight of Chazz's face. Syrus had drawn large kitty whiskers on his cheek.

"Aw...Chazzy looks _so_ cute as a neko-boy," Siho teased, face turning red, "Chumley where's your camera, I can make so many rumors with this,"

Chazz's eye twitched as he cracked his knuckles, "Ohh...you think that's funny, that I'm a cat, huh? Well, lemme show you my claws, you Slifer Slackers!" he screamed, charging at them.

"RUN! IT'S THE ATTACK OF THE CAT PEOPLE!" Christina yelled jokingly as she lead the group while Chazz chased after them.

As the group ran off, a figure in a nearby tree stepped out onto a branch, it's yellow eyes watching them closely.

-----

Alexis and Jordan walked along the lakeside near Obelisk Blue, on their way to visit Atticus.

"I'm glad he's doin' better,"

"Me too, Jordy," Alexis looked at her cousin, "I just hope that-,"

The loud sound of glass breaking made both Rhodes stop in their tracks. They looked at one another and stormed into the Obelisk dorm.

"Atticus!"

"Atty!"

The two of them burst into Atticus' room to find that it was trashed, the balcony window wide open and shards of glass covering the floor. But that wasn't the only thing wrong in the room...a glowing circle with a dot in the middle floated above the glass shards, then disappeared from sight.

"Hey!"

Alexis turned to see Jordan leaning over the balcony, screaming at something in the distance. She ran up to see him screaming at a figure that was retreating into the forest. Alexis jumped off the balcony and raced after the figure, Jordan close behind her.

"HEY! STOP!"

"WHERE'S MY BROTHER?!"

The two Rhodes chased after the figure for what seemed like forever until they came to a clearing. On the other side, the figure stood there waiting, under the shad of a large tree. It wore a tan, hooded cloak, wore dark clothes underneath with red sashes, hard, leather gloves, and a strange, black mask that had glowing yellow eyes that seemed to stare into their souls.

"Let us guess...," Alexis turned on her duel disk.

Jordan followed suit, "You're a Shadow Rider?"

Alexis glanced at her cousin, "Forget it, Jordy, this doesn't concern you,"

"Bull crap," Jordan glared hard at the hooded Rider, "_No_ one messes with the Rhodes Trio,"

_Can't believe he still uses that nickname for us three_ Alexis turned to the Rider, who had it's own duel disk on, "Alright...if you're sure about this. Let's duel!"

**S: 4000  
A: 4000  
J: 4000**

-----

"Banner, you around?" Chazz looked around the forest as he, Jaden and Siho walked around, having separated from the others to cover more ground.

"Professor?" Jaden called out, "C'mon, it's us!"

"If you can hear us, say something!" Siho shouted.

"AHHHH!"

The three boys spun around to see Syrus, Chumley, Kairi, and Khamille running through the woods.

"SNAKE!" Syrus pointed behind them, "We saw a snake!"

"It was huge man!" Kairi held up her hands to show the length, "It was like the Midgar Zolom from _Final Fantasy 7_!"

Chazz rolled his eyes, "Whoop-dee-doo,"

"We _are_ in a forest, you guys...," Jaden reasoned, "Of course there's snakes,"

"Yeah, but I _seriously_ doubt you saw a Midgar Zolom, Kairi," Siho added, shaking his head.

"But this wasn't natural!" Chumley whimpered.

Seconds later, the point was proven as a thick cloud of snakes fell out of the trees above them. Everyone screamed as the slithery serpents landed either on them, or very close by them. As they ran away from the horde of reptiles, Siho noticed that someone was missing.

"Where the hell is Christina?!"

-----

As the sun set, the seventh Shadow Rider walked over to the fallen bodies of Alexis and Jordan Rhodes, their cards strewn about. The Rider held out a strange book with a golden eye in the middle and watched as both Rhodes slowly vanished while the eye glowed green.

The Seventh Rider closed the book and turned, ready to leave, but stopped. Christina was glaring hard, fists curled tight and her Key showing outside her blazer.

"That's the only Key you're getting, asshole," she swore, turning on her disk, "Let's rock,"

The Shadow Rider could only chuckle as the disk on it's arm reactivated.

-----

"Christina! Christina, c'mon where are you!"

Siho stopped walking, then turned to Kairi and Khamille, who were following him, "You guys sure she went this way?"

Kairi nodded, "Yeah. She said she had to go to the bathroom, but didn't want the boys to see it, so she walked this until she left our line of sight," she shrugged, "We thought she'd come back sooner, but didn't. Instead, we saw the snakes,"

Khamille crossed her arms, "I got a bad feeling about this...,"

"Yeah, same here," Siho looked up at the sky, the color orange occupied the sky as the sun set in the distance, "But, I think she'll be okay,"

"Oh...how wrong you are," a cold voice laughed.

Siho spun around to see a man standing on a rock a few yards away. The man wore a heavy black buttoned coat, a pair of round glasses, and boots that made him look goth. His long silver hair tied in a ponytail and cold, steel-blue eyes made Siho realize who this was.

"Guys, get outta here," he whispered, stepping forward, duel disk turning on.

"Uh...yeah, we _can't_,"

Siho looked over his shoulder to see that both Kairi and Khamille were now bound to trees with vines that slowly crept over their bodies.

He turned to the man in front of him as his own duel disk turned on. Like the others before him, it was a black duel disk with a large number and letter on it. It was labled C4.

Siho growled, "Let them go, Judecca!"

The man raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you know my name?" he nodded, "I see Ptolomea's been blabbing when he shouldn't have. That just complicates the mission,"

"I wouldn't call it a mission," Siho barked, "I'd call it calling Satan from Hell. I know that I have to duel ya, but let them go," he nodded to the two Slifer girls behind him.

Judecca threw his head back and laughed, "Let them _go_? Please, why would I do that? This is going to be a fun duel, and the more the merrier right? Besides," he shrugged, "...if you refuse, I can just make the vines squeeze the life and blood out of them. They've got enough thorns in them to do some damage with the right pressure,"

Siho stared at the man, then glanced at his friends, then looked back to his opponent, "You're dead,".

"No, I'm not _dead_. I am the fourth and final member of Cocytus Squad...Judecca, Ruler of the Dark World!"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Okay, I'm sorry if that wasn't as good as previous chaps, and if it was confusing, but I have my reasons for doing it like this. One of which, I'm trying to fit this in before the final Shadow Rider duel so they get equal time in the spot light. Gomen.**


	66. Cocytus: Judecca's Dark World Part One

**Cocytus: Judecca's Dark World Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"...no...,"

Christina fell to her knees, her cards falling out of her deck as the Seventh Rider advanced on her, it's cape flowing behind. Her eyes dulled over before she fell over facefirst, her Key glowing and disappearing from sight.

The Rider opened up it's book and soon, Christina vanished, joining her fellow Key Keeper within the confines. After closing the book, the Shadow Rider turned on it's heel and walked off, disappearing into the treeline.

-----

Siho glared at Judecca.

Judecca smirked at Siho.

"You're dead, man,"

"No...if there's anything one of us in the future, it is to be the flesh for the Dark God. Now, let's duel!"

**S: 4000  
J: 4000**

"If you'll permit me, servants to the Dark One first!" Judecca drew his card, "I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World (1800/1500) in attack mode!"

A man with a wicked blade in impressive blue armor appeared on the field, the blade reflecting the evening sun as it moved from side to side.

"Next, I play a Spell card known as Dark World Dealings!" Judecca slipped the card into his disk, "Now, we both draw one card from our decks...,"

He paused as both of them drew their cards.

"Next, we discard a card from our hand," Judecca looked at his hand, "I think I'll discard Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark World (1600/1300)...,"

"And I'll discard my Dragon Seeker (2000/2100)," Siho slipped the card into his Graveyard slot.

Judecca chuckled, "Alright. Now, I activate Beiige's effect! When he is discarded from my hand due to another card's effect, say...my Dark World Dealings? I can Special Summon him from the Graveyard in attack mode!" he glanced at his now glowing Graveyard and seconds later, Beiige appeared alongside Zure.

Beiige looked like a strange, purple corpse with bone armor, carrying a long, jagged spear.

"I end my turn for now...,"

Siho drew his card, _Nothing out of the ordinary yet...wonder if the Dark Man even put those cards in my deck..._

"Make your move!"

"I'm going, I'm going, don't get your panties in a wad," Siho snapped at him, "I place two cards facedown and I summon Zombyra the Dark (2100/500) in attack mode!" he declared as his bone-armored, caped warrior appeared on the field, "Zombyra, attack Zure!"

With a grunt, his warrior flew to the other side of the field and sliced through Zure's chest with his attack, blowing him to bits. Judecca didn't even seem to flinch as his monster was destroyed, "Won't matter...your monster loses attack points for each move,"

**S: 4000  
J: 3700**

"I end my turn,"

"Good," Judecca drew his card, "I play yet another Dark World Dealings! This means we can draw another card...,"

Both players drew again.

"Then, we discard one from our hand," Judecca tossed a card into his Graveyard, "I'll throw away Gren, Tactician of Dark World (300/500)...,"

Siho tossed a card as well, "I discard The Portraits Secret (1200/1500),"

Judecca nodded, "Now that that's settled, I play Gren's effect! When _he's_ sent to the Graveyard by another card effect, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field, and I choose the second facedown card of yours," he said, pointing to left card.

Siho watched as his card was destroyed, "Thanks for that...,"

"What?"

"Hehehe...for my Trap card to work, I needed it to be destroyed and I knew sooner or later that you'd try and destroy this or my other one," Siho paused as a golden serpent-like Fiend slithered out onto the field through a patch of fog, "Statue of the Wicked Tokens can only be summoned to the field when the card is destroyed...," Siho grinned, "Gotta give props to Crowler sometime for that idea...,"

Zombyra the Dark (1900/500)  
Wicked Token (1000/1000)

"Foolish attempt," Judecca pointed to the Wicked Token, "Beiige, attack that pathetic Token monster now!"

Beiige screeched and threw his spear hard, the weapon flying straight at the Token monster.

"Activate Trap card, Compulsory Evacuation Device!" Siho cried out, pressing his button, "This Trap card returns one monster on the field to their owner's hand, and I choose Beiige!"

A strange mechanical cannon appeared on the field, took hold of Beiige and launched him hard, straight at Judecca. The Cocytus member frowned as his monster disappeared and it's card appeared back in his hand.

"So, Judecca...got anything else?" Siho asked, smirking slightly.

Judecca looked at his hand, "I place one card facedown and end my turn," he murmured, slipping a card into his disk.

Siho drew his card, _What the hell? It's one of the cards I got from Vahn...but how the hell do I use it?_

He glanced at his opponent and shook his head, "I sacrifice my Wicked Token monster in order to summon Lesser Fiend (2100/1000) in attack mode!".

A large, four-armed demonic creature with a head similar to that of a canine appeared on the field, roaring and flexing it's arms.

"Next, I play the Field Spell known as Mystic Plasma Zone," Siho's tray opened up and he placed the card into it. High above them, a dark cloud appeared out of nowhere and purple lightning flashed about them as the clouds swirled.

"This card gives all DARK attribute monsters 500 extra attack points, at the price of taking away 400 defense points," Siho explained as his monsters glowed with a purple light.

Lesser Fiend (2600/600)  
Zombyra the Dark (2400/100)

"Lesser Fiend, attack Judecca directly!"

The four-armed demon roared and began to pummel the Cocytus member rapidly with it's multiple limbs. The attack lasted only seconds, but even Judecca seemed to look thrashed.

**S: 4000  
J: 1100**

"I can't attack directly with Zombyra, so consider yourself lucky," Siho spat at him.

Judecca wiped his mouth, glaring at him, "Shut up, punk. I won't go down that easy. I activate my facedown card known as Damage Condenser! Now, I discard one card from my hand in order to Special Summon one monster from my deck that has equal or less attack points than the damage I just recieved!"

Siho blinked, confused, "Huh?"

"Here, allow me to demonstrate!" Judecca slipped a card into his disk, "I'll discard Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World (300/500) and I'll Special Summon my most powerful monster in my whole deck! I summon Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World (2500/1800)!!"

Siho watched as a gigantic, black scaled, winged beast appeared on the field, carrying what seemed to be a huge two-pronged spear. The beast looked down at Siho and growled deeply. Siho stared back at the beast, face going pale.

"...holy shit...,"

"Now, I'll activate the effect of Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World!" Judecca's smirk widened, "When he's sent to the Graveyard by the effect of another card, I can destroy a monster on the field," he pointed to Lesser Fiend, "Say goodbye to that four armed mutt!"

Siho looked away as his stronger monster was blasted into nothing.

"That's not all! My turn's just starting since all that was due to one Trap!" Judecca drew his card, "I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World (1800/400) in attack mode!"

Another strange, purple corpse-like creature appeared, a heavy blue cloak fluttering about him.

"I must thank you, boy. You gave me some help on your last turn. Thanks to Mystic Plasma Zone, _my_ monsters are powered up as well!"

Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World (3000/1400)  
Brron, Mad King of Dark World (2300/0)

Zombyra the Dark (2400/100)

"Reign-Beaux, destroy Zombyra the Dark with Dark World Smite!"

Siho watched as his warrior was speared by the giant beast and then thrown into the ground, blowing up on contact with the dirt.

**S: 3400  
J: 1100**

"Brron, you're up! Show this whelp the true power of darkness!"

Brron wheezed as he approached Siho, reaching out for the boy. Siho couldn't move as Brron grabbed hold, leaned in and took a holographic bite out of his shoulder. Siho screamed in pain and held his shoulder. It may have a been a hologram, but it still hurt.

**S: 1100  
J: 1100**

Siho fell to his knees, holding his body as the pain from the attacks lingered. Judecca roared with laughter, "_This_ is the Vessel?! _This_ is the boy who beat Caina?! I don't think so...you're not worthy of being our God's flesh and blood!"

_I'm not even trying to **be** the flesh and blood of a Dark God!_ Siho winced and looked over his shoulder at Kairi and Khamille, who seemed to be covered in more and more thorny vines, small streaks of blood running down their arms, _I'm just trying to put an end to this thing once and for all and keep my friends safe. I need a miracle..._

-----

A short distance away, Vahn stood, watching the duel between Judecca and Siho. He frowned, "C'mon kid...just have faith, beat this freak, and that'll be the end of it...,"

He reached down and took out a small cell phone. After dialing a number, he looked back to the duel as the other end of the line rang until someone picked up after a short time.

"It's Gale. The boy's having trouble in his duel. What should I do?"

He stood there, listening to what the other person told him.

"...is that wise?"

Again, he stood there in silence.

"...I understand. No, sir, I get it completely. Don't worry. If things go bad, I'll make sure he doesn't become the Vessel at all. If it comes to that, I'll phone Vynix and tell him confirmation of the mission. Gale out,"

Sighing, he moved his coat back and clipped the phone to his belt, eyes lingering on the small pistol near it.

_I just pray it doesn't come to **that**..._ he looked up and frowned, _C'mon kid. Jaden's got the Demons to watch over, only you can keep that **thing** from coming back to this world!_

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Oh boy...this...doesn't look good huh? Let's hope that Siho can pull through or else...well, a few bad things might just happen to him and his friends. Ja ne!**

**P.S. I REALLY hope I did this right...my first ever Dark World duel...heheheh. Hope ya enjoyed it and I hope I got the cards right...**


	67. Cocytus: Judecca's Dark World Part Two

**Cocytus: Judecca's Dark World Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**_Last time, on GX: Heroes...Chrissy met her end at the hands of the Seventh Shadow Rider while Siho began dueling Judecca, the final member of the Cocytus Squad. Judecca began the duel bringing out strange monsters from the Dark World, a deck that Siho's never faced or heard of before._**

**_After gaining a lead, Siho was literally brought to his knees and now, the Life Points are tied as the sunsets. With 1100 Life Points each, which one of the duelists will come out on top: The Dark World Lord, or the Dark Prince? Meanwhile, Vahn watches from a distance. What is Vahn's true purpose on the island, and is he friend or foe?_**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hehehehhe...my, I haven't had this much fun in a long time," Judecca reached up and adjusted his glasses, "Whenever I have this much fun, my glasses always slip downward," he looked at Khamille's and Kairi's struggling bodies, "You know...I think after I'm done with you, I think I can use your friends for some personal company later on. You know, I gotta have something to unwind,"

"That's sick, you sonofabitch...,"

Siho slowly climbed his feet, staggering here and there and glaring hard at Judecca, "I won't let you touch them, or _any_ of my friends!"

Judecca shook his head, "So naive...don't you understand, it's useless to fight against me, Zolaro. We Cocytus have been chosen to find the Vessel for the Dark God and to prepare it, through any means necessary, to welcome and house our true master! It'd be so much easier if you just surrendered, but if you must insist on a humilating defeat, then go on and take your turn," he brushed a silver lock from his eyes, "Then we'll get underway with the second half of my mission,"

"Mission-shmission...," Siho moved his hand to his deck, only one card in it for now, _If there's any real gods, Egyptian or otherwise, up there and watching this...please, give me some help!_

He drew his card, "Not bad...I play Pot of Greed!" he drew two more cards. As soon as Siho drew his cards, he stared at them.

_Vahn's second card...how are these two gonna help me?_ he looked at the first card _I can't win with a combination like this. Unless..._ he glanced at the third card and a small grin appeared on his face, _I throw **this** in the mix. Finally, a chance to show off one of my newer cards..._

"Tick-tock, tick-tock," Judecca wagged a finger from side to side, imitating a metronome, "More time you waste, the more danger you put your friends through...,"

"Shut up, I know what I'm doing!" Siho held up two cards, "First, I play Cemetary Change!"

Judecca frowned, _Cemetary...Change?_

"By paying 1000 Life Points, I can destroy every monster on the field, and we both switch our Graveyards with one another. In other words, you get mine, and I get your Graveyard!"

Reign-Beaux and Brron screeched in agony before being blown to pieces, leaving Judecca wide open for an attack. The two duelists walked to the middle of the dueling area and exchanged graveyards before going back to their normal places.

"Next," Siho inserted his other card, "I play Soul Release! With this card, I can remove up to five cards in my Graveyard from play, so I choose Reign-Beaux, Gren, Beiige, Zure, and Brron!"

Judecca raised an eyebrow as his own monsters were removed from play, "If you think that'll keep you safe, you're sadly mistaken, boy...,"

_I hope I'm not mistaken..._ Siho prayed silently as he inserted his final card, _If I am, I've lost!_

"I place one card facedown and end my turn!" the Slifer murmured, his heart racing.

His silver-haired opponent drew his card and chuckled, "This is too easy! I summon Scarr, Scout of Dark World (500/500) in attack mode!" he paused as a strange, horrid creature appeared on the field, bright red scales covering everyone of it's four limbs, it's claws shining brightly, "Scarr, finish this duel!"

Siho gulped as the newest monster galloped towards him, _This is it...hang on, guys!_

"Activate facedown Trap card!" Siho shouted, pressing a button on his disk, "Return from the Different Dimension!"

"What?!"

"By paying half of my Life Points...," Siho panted as more of his points went down, "I can bring back every single monster that was removed from play...so here they are!" he looked up to see a swirling vortex that was centered in the Plasma Zone of his, "Gren, Beiige, Reign-Beaux, Brron and Zure! Return to the field now!"

**S: 50  
J: 1100**

Judecca watched in horror as his own monsters...his own monsters came to his enemy's aid, each one of them powered up by the Field Spell card, as was Scarr.

Scarr, Scout of the Dark World (1000/100)

Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World (3000/1400)  
Brron, Mad King of Dark World (2300/0)  
Zure, Knight of Dark World (2300/1100)  
Beiige, Vanguard of the Dark World (2100/900)  
Gren, Tactician of Dark World (800/100)

"Reign-Beaux, counter-attack Scarr! Send him to the Abyss!"

Reign-Beaux, once Judecca's most powerful monster in his deck, roared and rammed it's spear into Scarr's body, skewing it without mercy.

Judecca roared in agony as he was blasted back from the force of the explosion, hitting a tree and fall to the ground, unmoving.

**S: 50  
J: 0**

The vines holding Khamille and Kairi disappeared and the two Slifer girls fell to the ground, cuts and scrapes covering their bodies.

Kairi coughed and rubbed her throat, "And I thought the Ents from _Lord of the Rings_ were bad...,"

Khamille laughed hoarsely at her friends joke, "Guess you know better now, huh?"

-----

Vahn sighed in relief at what he had seen.

"Good job, kid," he said with a nod, "Let's hope that's enough...,"

With that, he walked away, tucking his firearm into the back of his pants.

"Now, to tie a loose end,"

-----

"So, you guys have any idea where Christina went off to?"

Khamille and Kairi shook their heads, "No," they said together.

"Damn," Siho ran a hand through his black hair, "Where the hell did she get to?!"

Kairi shrugged as she was helped to her feet by Khamille, "I dunno...but I'm getting a bad feeling,"

"You sure that's not your boobs?" Siho asked, looking at her torn blazer, which while torn, didn't show anything too much, "I mean, you _were _held down by sharp thorns...,"

_THWAP THWAP_

-----

"Boss, I'm tellin' ya, there's something not right here!"

Chazz glared at Ojama Yellow as he made his way through the now dark forest. He and the others had rested around a campfire a short time ago, since the sun had set sometime before, but he decided to split from the group to look for Banner again.

"Get lost!" he snapped, batting him away just as a loud mewling sound reached his ears. Startled, Chazz aimed his flashlight ahead of him to see a glowing half-circle with a dot in the center...and Pharaoh just behind it!

Chazz sighed in relief, "There you are, you fat furball...," he muttered as he walked over. He knelt down to pet the cat, but noticed something else. Frowning, he reached down and picked up a familiar pair of spectacles.

"Banner's glasses...," he looked at them, then looked around, "But where the hell is Banner?!"

Another mew from Pharaoh made him look up to see another glowing circle ahead of him. Chazz walked up the path, and noticed a few other familiar objects on the ground.

"Banner's tie, and his shirt!" Chazz picked them up off the ground and scowled, looking around, "He's naked somewhere...God, this place is gonna get a major lawsuit if something bad happens...,"

"Uh...Boss...something bad _is_ happening right now...,"

Chazz turned to snap at his Ojama friend, but stopped when he saw a cloaked figure standing nearby, duel disk turning on.

_The last Shadow Rider!_ Chazz turned all the way around, "_You_ took Banner...and I'm gonna get him back!" he hissed, turning on his Duel Disk.

"Boss, look under you!"

Chazz looked down and was very surprised at what he saw. Moments before, he was standing on solid ground, but now, he was standing on water!

"Whoa...nice trick," he chuckled, looking back up at the Shadow Rider, "It's time to Chazz-It-Up, Shadow Rider...let's go!"

"Go get him, Boss!" his three Ojama spirits cheered, floating around him.

-----

Siho lead the two girls out of the brush and into a path, Khamille holding Kairi, helping her walk easier.

"We've been wandering around since you won that duel, Siho, but now we can't find anyone or anyway out!" Kairi muttered, looking around nervously, "Oh God, this is just like _Friday the 13th_...if anyone sees Jason Voorhees, offer yourself up so I can get away,"

"_Chi chi chi chi...ha ha ha ha..._,"

"ACK!" Kairi leapt off the ground and clung tight to Khamille, shaking like a leaf.

Siho grinned to himself, _God I love freakin' her out..._

"Siho! Hey, Siho!"

The trio stopped and turned to see Chumley, Jaden, Syrus, and Pharaoh, Banner's fat pet cat running up to them.

Siho sighed in relief, "Finally, some intelligent life," he murmured as his friends caught up to them, "You guys see Chrissy? I been looking for her and-," he stopped and did a head count, "Where's Chazz?"

As if on cue, a loud scream ripped through the air, sending the owls in the trees flying into the sky.

"What the hell was _that_?!" Khamille and Kairi shrieked at the same time, holding one another.

Following the trail, the group of Slifers ran to the edge of a lake, where on the water's surface, was Chazz's entire deck, floating around.

"Chazz's cards...," Jaden whispered, dropping his flashlight, "But where's Chazz?"

The soft sound of sobbing made Jaden and Siho look ahead. Floating over the soaked cards, were the three Ojama Brothers.

"I got a _baaaaaaaad_ feeling about this...," Syrus squeaked.

-----

At that moment, deep underground, the Seventh Rider stood over the mystical locks that kept the Legendary Demons safe. The Rider held up it's hand and three more slots in the locks began to shine brightly, leaving only one slot unlit. Six of the seven keys had been won by the Shadow Riders...now only one remained. The chamber began to shake violently as six beams of light shot forth from a small orb of energy.

-----

"EARTHQUAKE!"

"HIT THE DECK!"

The group of Slifers watched as six, huge pillars of light shot up around the island and rose high into the air as the whole island shaked like Los Angeles.

"What was that?!" Syrus squeaked out as the tremors died down.

Jaden looked up at the pillars of energy, "I dunno, Sy, but whatever it is, it's definitely not good...,"

_You can say that again Jaden..._ Siho grit his teeth, staring at the pillars as well, _Not good at all!_

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Okay...now...I'm VERY sorry if this duel ended a little...less exciting then you might've wanted it, but I just needed to get this done. I'm very sorry if it's not that good -bows- Now, I'm sure you guys must have some questions, but before you even ask some of them, lemme say that they will be answered in due time! Okay? Catch ya next time!**


	68. Full Metal Duelist Part One

**Full Metal Duelist Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: This is it folks...the Seventh Shadow Rider duel! ON WITH DA CHAPTER!**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Chazz's eyes snapped open and he found himself inside an oddly colored bubble. He looked around to see more and more bubbles floating around him.

"Where...where am I?"

Rising to his feet, he noticed something else about the other bubbles. In each one, there was a person laying down, not moving a muscle. Even though they weren't moving, he recognized them all rather easily.

"Alexis? Jordan?" he looked at the other bubbles, "Atticus and Christina too? Where on Earth am I?!"

A bright light from the side made Chazz hold a hand over his eyes. He turned to find the source of the light, but instead, he found something that made his eyes go wide. Directly ahead of him, was the planet Earth itself! It sat there in the void of space as Chazz watched from his bubble prison.

"Actually, let's make that...," he gulped, "Where _off _the Earth am I?!"

-----

"What is going on here?!"

"Yeah, those six laser beams of light just shot out of nowhere!"

Syrus, Chumley, Khamille, Kairi and Siho looked up at the beams, staring at them in awe.

"Pretty lights...," Kairi whispered, "Dude, is Duel Island having a laser show and no one told us?"

Khamille shrugged, "Maybe...,"

Jaden shook his head, looking at the beams, "Actually guys...those aren't part of a light show, and I don't think that they shot out of nowhere. Six of the seven Spirit Gates must've been unlocked...but the question is how?"

"I'll tell you how!"

Jaden and Siho looked down at the cards Jaden held in his hand. Ojama Yellow was looking up at them from the safe confines of his card, "The Seventh Shadow Rider is _vicious_!"

"You mean...," Jaden looked back up, "He took them _all_ down?!"

_Christina...NO!_ Siho clenched a fist, _She lost!_

"That means everyone's lost but just Jaden!" Syrus looked at the others, "He has the final Spirit Key!"

"Man, this Seventh Shadow Rider must be _really_ good," Chumley gulped.

Kairi nodded, "No joke...," she turned to the two still Slifers, "Guys, let's get outta here...please? If you're the last one, then he's gonna hunt you down! We gotta hide _right now_!"

"I'm not gonna hide...,"

"Neither am I,"

Kairi blinked at both of them, "W-what?"

Jaden turned and looked at her, "Our friends need help and we gotta give it to them!"

"We have no choice," Siho cracked his knuckles, "I don't care if I'm not a Key Keeper, I'm gonna wail on this Shadow Rider for taking Christina. That bastard's gonna pay,"

Jaden nodded and looked back ahead, "Besides, we don't hafta worry about that Seventh Rider finding me, 'cuz _I'm_ gonna find _him_!"

Chumley looked at him nervously, "Uh...when you say 'I' you don't mean 'we' do you?" he asked slowly.

"You better believe it, Chum," Jaden nodded, "It all comes down to this. Everything we've worked for...I want you guys to be there when I beat him and save the world!"

Khamille held a thumbs up, "I'm in, Jay,"

"You know my answer," Siho said, cracking his neck

Chumley and Syrus looked at each other and nodded.

Kairi sighed in defeat, "I'm all for savin' the world...but I don' wanna...,"

"Too bad," Khamille pushed her forward as the group moved on, "Onward!"

"Aw man...no fair!"

-----

Deep under the Abandoned Dorm, in a large, dark room, the Seventh Rider stood. From beneath his mask, a dark laugh escaped as he spun around and held up his arms.

"All has gone according to plan. Now, it is time for the Endgame! Where Jaden will face a dueling trial unlike anything he has ever seen!" he roared as the floor in front of him lit up with a golden light.

-----

A large bolt of lighting fell from the sky and collided with a large tree, snapping it in half. As it fell, Jaden and his friends ran out of the way before it came down on them, screaming.

"WHAT THE F-,"

"Uh...timber?" Jaden breathed, interrupting Siho's cursing.

Chumley held his heart, "That...was close...,"

"You're telling me," Kairi poked her head out from behind Khamille, "A few seconds later, we would've our skulls cracked open!"

"Guys...," Syrus pointed ahead at the scorched trunk.

Everyone turned to see a glowing circle with a dot in the center of it. It lingered on the trunk for a few moments, then it disappeared and reappeared a few feet away...then it went away again and came back, this time, even further away.

"The mark of Amnael," Chumley realized, "It's like it's trying to lead us someplace...totally not lishus,"

Jaden scowled, "Looks like finding this guy will be easier than we thought. C'mon guys!"

The group of Slifers followed the mark until it led them to an all-too-familiar building: the Abandoned Dorm.

After a few moments of reluctance from Kairi, the whole group managed to walk inside, Syrus and Siho holding a lantern in their hands, lighting the way.

Jaden looked around, "Figures he'd be here. The Abandoned Dorm is where all of this began...,"

"...and it looks like this is where it'll end," Siho finished. He remembered this place just as well as the others. Here, he dueled Kairi for the first time, then he saw her father, who later came back as a Shadow Rider. He looked behind him and wondered if Kairi was going to have a hard time dealing with the memories this place was going to bring.

Before he could ask her anything, a flash of lightning and the loud booming of thunder interrupted the eerie calmness of the old dorm. Kairi screamed buried her face into Khamille's shoulder while Pharaoh leapt out of Chumley's arms and bolted down the hallway.

"Man, for a fat ass cat, Pharaoh can move _fast_," Siho cracked.

Jaden sighed, "Great. We gotta get him back...,"

-----

"Pharaoh...Pharaoh...here neko neko neko,"

The group walked down a corridor supported by wooden beams, the lights from the lantern showing them debris and stone that lay around.

"Man, why did that damn cat have to run to a freaky area like this?!" Khamille spat, ducking underneath a cobweb.

Siho shrugged, and pointed to something, "I dunno, but looks like we just got lucky,"

Jaden and Khamille followed his finger to see a hole made in the wall. Chumley knelt down and saw that it was another passageway, and that Pharaoh's paw prints were in the dust.

"Well, we know where he _went..._," Syrus twiddled his fingers, "But it looks like we can't fit, so let's go, shall we?"

Kairi nodded, "I agree,"

Siho rolled his eyes and crawled through the hole with ease, surprising the others, "Wusses...,"

Syrus and Chumley gawked at him.

"How'd you do that?" Syrus looked at the hole, "I can't even fit through here!"

"Call it fruits of my homeschooling," Siho muttered, kicking the wall down, making the hole wider, "Now, are ya gonna stand there like a bunch of pansies, or are ya gonna join me?"

"Anyone getting an odd sense of deja vu?" Kairi wondered aloud as she and Khamille pushed Chumley through the slightly widened hole.

"You thinkin' _The Goonies_?" Siho asked as he handed Jaden his lantern.

"How'd you know?"

"Call it a lucky guess...,"

After a tight squeeze with the rest of them, Jaden led the others down the newly discovered passageway until they came to a cut in the corridor.

"This...doorway was never here before," Jaden shined his light around the area, "Then again, neither was this passageway,"

Syrus grinned nervously, "Well then, I say we wait for another day to check it out..,"

Chumley nodded, "Yeah, good idea, Sy,"

However, despite all the scaredy-ness of the other boys in the group, they all stepped through the doorway and they found themselves in a very large, and very dark room. Siho rubbed his arms, taking in a sharp breath. Even though he wore his Slifer blazer, he could actually feel a very cold chill in the air.

Jaden shined his light around the room. The floor was covered in dust, and there was some kind of strange equipment everywhere. But, one thing that caught their eye were three large, stone tablets straight ahead of them. Each one depicted a horrifying looking monster, somewhat simliar to each of the Egyptian Gods...but they looked much darker.

Siho bit his tongue at the sight of them, _I can guess who **those** guys are..._

"Man, this place looks like a lab from a horror movie...," Jaden cracked, looking around.

Chumley whimpered and stepped closer to the group, "But where's the mad scientist hiding?"

"God, you just _had_ to ask that question didn't you?!" Kairi snapped at him, smacking him upside the head.

"Um...if he's where my gut is tellin' me, I might need a change of shorts...,"

Everyone else turned at Syrus' quiet voice and they all saw what he was talking about. Nearby, standing propped up against the wall was...

"A coffin!" Jaden gasped.

"Or a refrigerator box...," Chumley suggested hopefully.

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, that's it...,"

Jaden looked at the coffin for a few moments then start walking towards it.

"Dude, what the hell!?" Kairi gawked at him.

"Are you crazy?!" Khamille added, eyes wide.

Jaden ran his hand over the coffin's lid, then turned to his friends, "Anyone wanna give me some help?"

"I'll do it," Siho volunteered, cracking his knuckles, "Since the Four Muskateers don't seem up to the task,"

With the added strength, both Slifer boys pushed the lid of the coffin away and with a loud _thud_, the lid connected with the floor, the contents of the coffin exposed.

"My God...," Siho covered his face, "Nasty...,"

Jaden looked inside, "...it's a mummy,"

"Thank you and good night, folks!" Kairi spun around and started to walk away until Khamille reached back and grabbed her collar, "Leggo!"

"No one goes off alone,"

"Then come with me!"

Jaden looked at the old corpse, "What is a mummy doing here?" he wondered aloud.

"More like, 'what are _we_ doing here'?" Syrus countered, holding onto Chumley out of fright.

"Yeah," Chumley nodded rapidly, "I'm with Sy on that one,"

"Wait a sec...," Jaden leaned in a bit and he let out a loud gulp, "Chumley...give me...your flashlight," he whispered.

"Oh crap, what's wrong?!"

"What's wrong is that...," Jaden shined the light on the mummy, "This things looks...familiar,"

Siho nodded, "You too, huh?"

The mummy inside, wore a long lab coat, a dress shirt with a tie, light colored pants, square glasses over it's dried out skin, and it's long black hair lay peacefully over it's coat.

"There's only one way to be sure..," Jaden looked at Siho, who nodded, then reached over and pulled away the left side of the mummy's coat. Underneath the fabric was one word, sewn into the fabric of the mummy's shirt.

**_BANNER_**

"It _is_ him...," Jaden stepped back a foot or so, "...Professor...,"

"What...?" the other four asked at the same time.

Siho stepped away, feeling sick to his stomach. He nodded to the coffin, "The...mummy...it is or _was_...Professor Banner,"

"NO WAY!"

All four ran up to the coffin and looked it. Kairi gagged and turned away while Khamille just shut her eyes.

Chumley shook his head, "He _can't_ have mummified this fast!" he gazed at the very dried out corpse, "I can't even make jerky in the time he's been missing,"

_This must be what happened to him when he lost against the last Shadow Rider..._ Siho did his best to hold down his lunch, _No one deserved this..._

"You think it's a fake?" Jaden asked his overweight friend.

Syrus nodded, "Yeah, like a wax dummy, right?"

"Wrong! That _is_ the one you know as Professor Banner...,"

Suddenly, the lights in the large room turned on, startling everyone...along with the new voice that had spoken before the lights flicked on. The Slifers spun around to see a tall figure, wearing black pants, a tan hooded cloak, a black mask and balaclava over it's face, while a custom Duel Disk occupied it's left arm.

"Who is that?" Jaden asked, even though he already had a feeling.

The figure laughed coldly, "Who am I? I am the Seventh Shadow Rider!!"

Jaden stared at the Rider as Ojama Yellow appeared beside his head.

"That's the one! That's the guy that took down Chazz!" the Spirit shrieked, pointing at the Rider.

_That means..._ Siho clenched a fist, _He's the one that took down Chrissy!_

"It's true, Jaden," the Seventh Rider chuckled, "I am the one who defeated the rest of your Key Keeping friends, and if you want them back, you must beat me. I am Amnael!"

"Amnael?" Siho looked at Jaden, "As in the 'Mark of Amnael' Amnael?"

"That's right," Amnael reached into his garb and pulled out a strange looking, stone book, "and I have your friends right here...,"

-----

"Aw man...anyone catch the number of the monster that just mauled me?"

Chazz stopped pounding on his bubble prison and looked ahead to see Christina sitting up, rubbing her head.

"It's about time you're awake!"

Christina turned around slowly and blinked, "Chazz...? Where are we?"

-----

"And, if you cannot defeat me, you will be joining them," Amnael's gaze went from Jaden to the other five Slifers, "_All_ of you,"

Jaden glanced over his shoulder at the mummified corpse of his mentor, "But what about Professor Banner?" he asked, looking back at Amnael, "Or is it too late to bring him back?!"

"It was _always_ too late!" Amnael snapped, "It's best that you forget about the one you knew as Banner, for he is no more!"

"What do you mean no more?" Siho demanded, "If he lost a Shadow Game, we can win him back!"

Amnael shook his head, "To understand what this is about, to understand _everything_ that has been going on, _you_," he pointed to Jaden, "...must only do one thing. That is to duel and defeat me, Jaden! Only then will this Tome," he held up the strange book, "and all the secrets within will be open to you, free to be discovered. Will you accept this challenge, will you face me?"

Chumley shook his head, "Naw, I'm good,"

"I think he's talkin' to Jaden, Chum," Kairi muttered.

"You're on!"

As Jaden ran out onto the middle of the floor, his friends moved away from the mummified teacher, most of them creeped out by it.

"Let's throw down!" Jaden cried out, turning on his duel disk.

Amnael pulled back his hood to reveal a main of shocking white hair as his duel disk turned on, "Prepare yourself, Jaden!"

"I've been preparing myself for this ever since you Shadow Riders first showed!" Jaden snapped at him as they both drew their opening hands, "And now, Amnael, get your game on!"

**A: 4000  
J: 4000**

"It's time to throwdown! No matter what it takes, I'm gonna get my friends back, Amnael!"

"But, what if you don't _have_ what it takes to beat me, Jaden?" Amnael inquired, "Because to beat _me_, you'll have to reach a whole new echelon of dueling! Now, we begin!"

Amnael drew the first card of the duel, "I begin by playing the Spell card known as Chaos Distill!"

A huge, reddish metal pot rose up behind Amnael, smoke billowing out of the metal hoses.

"What _is_ that thing?" Syrus stared at the pot.

"Yeah, like _I'm _gonna know," Chumley muttered sarcastically.

Kairi turned to Khamille, "You've got good connections in Duel Monsters, do you have any idea what that is?"

Khamille could only shake her head.

"Due to it's effect, all of my cards that would normally go to the Graveyard, will be removed from play," Amnael explained.

Jaden frowned, _Why would he remove his own monsters from play?_

"Next, I'll activate my second Spell card," Amnael held up another card, "Steel Lamp! When Chaos Distill is on the field, I can use Steel Lamp to Special Summon Alchemy Beast - Salamandra the Steel (500/500)!"

From a burst of red hot flames, a giant metal dragon appeared on Amnael's field, roaring.

"You see, Alchemy Beasts can't be Summoned by normal means, but they _can_ wage a direct attack to you," Amnael explained as he held up two more cards, "Which is a big problem for you, when I play these two cards: Bronze Scale and Lead Compass, with Chaos Distill, I can now Summon two more Alchemy Beasts! Ouroboros the Bronze (500/500) and Leon the Lead (500/500)!"

Two more fiery pillars erupted from the floor and two more, strange looking monsters appeared beside the first Alchemy Beast. Leon the Lead looked like an ancient creature from myths, his mane glistening in the light while he stood on all four legs. Ouroboros looked like a long, dark red serpent with six yellow eyes, three on each side of his head.

"I'll now end with a facedown," Amnael chuckled, slipping a card into his duel disk.

Jaden grit his teeth, "Three monsters in the very first turn?!"

"Yes, and if you think that's impressive, then wait until you see them attack!"

Siho growled and turned to his friends, "Alchemy Beasts? Dude, I swear, this guy's ripping off _Full Metal Alchemist..._,"

"God, I love that anime...," Kairi sighed contently.

Khamille snapped her fingers, "Oi oi oi...c'mon back to earth, Kairi,"

"Well, Amnael, I'm not gonna give them that chance!" Jaden swore as he drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Bursting forth from a torrent of water, Jaden's caped Hero appeared on the field, looking proud.

"And since he's the only one out on the field, I get to draw two more cards...and I got the feeling they're gonna be some sweet ones!" he drew his extra cards and grinned, "It's good to be right! I play the Equip Spell card Bubble Blaster!"

The large water cannon fell from the sky and Bubbleman caught it with ease, hefting it on his shoulders.

E-Hero Bubbleman (1600/1200)

"FIRE! Bombarding Bubble Barrage!"

Amnael smirked behind his smooth mask as the bubbles flew at him, "That is one bubble I'm afraid that I must burst, Jaden. I activate a Trap!" he waved his arm to his facedown card, "Elemental Absorber!"

A strange looking metal device appeared on the field, four spikes covering the top of it while one spike was on the bottom, making the device look like a twisted version of a spinning top.

"With this card, by removing a monster card from play, I can negate the attack of one other monster, as long as they have the same Attribute!" Amnael plucked a card from his hand.

Jaden blinked, "That's...not good,"

"No, it isn't!" Amnael held up the card to reveal a pale blue girl in a matching dress, "Especially since I've chosen to remove Aqua Spirit (1600/1200)!".

The card disappeared and as the large bubble gained speed, the strange device spun around until a blue triangle appeared and began to glow brightly. Seconds before the bubble could hit any monsters, a huge wave of water appeared and the bubble disappeared within it.

"No! My attack-,"

"Has been canceled!" Amnael finished, as he drew his card, "Now it's my turn! Go, my Alchemy Beasts, attack Jaden directly!" he ordered, "Salamandra the Steel, let loose Flameshot of Ore!"

The metal Dragon shot a large fireball and hit Jaden hard in the stomach, making the Slifer wince in pain.

"Now, Ouroboros and Leon, attack as well!"

The other two monsters fired off a blue stream of energy and a hail of sharp metal scales that hit Jaden seconds later.

**A: 4000  
J: 2500**

"Jaden just got clobbered!" Syrus moaned.

Chumley frowned, "C'mon Jaden! He's only got one card left in his hand! If you can hold out this turn, you'll have the upperhand and he'll be the one on the ropes!"

"Let's go, Jay!" Kairi clapped her hands, "Show this anime-stealin' freak who rules!"

A dark chuckle from Amnael made Kairi hide behind Khamille.

"Is that what you think...?" the masked Rider looked up and shook his head, "You should've paid more attention in class. Then, maybe you would know that against my Alchemy Deck, nothing is what it seems!" he turned over his final card, which was divided into six parts, each one with a different color, "I play the Black Process - Negledo! When Chaos Distill is on the field, and there are no other cards in my hand, this card allows me to remove all Alchemy Beasts from my field and I get to draw two new cards per Beast!"

Jaden watched in disbelief as the three monsters that had assaulted him were engulfed by fire, "So, you're taking out your own monsters?!"

"That is the way of the Alchemist...destruction and rebirth. However, I can assure you that when you are destroyed here, there will be no rebirth for _you_!" Amnael reached for his deck, "Since I removed three Alchemy Beasts, I can draw six new cards!"

"Destruction and Rebirth...," Kairi shook a fist at Amnael, "Dude, stop ripping off my anime! First Alchemy Beasts, now Equivalent Exchange?! When will the madness end?!"

Ignoring Kairi's outburst, Amnael held up three cards, "I activate Tin Spell Circle, Mercury Hourglass and Silver Key! Much like the other three cards that work with Chaos Distill, I can use these to Summon forth three new Alchemy Beasts!" Amnael declared as the three cards turned into light and poured into the strange machine behind him, "So, I summon Eatos the Tin (500/500), Echeneis the Mercury (500/500) and Moonface the Silver (500/500)!"

These three new monsters looked stranger than the last three Alchemy Beasts. Eatos looked like a bird made of shiny metal, Echeneis looked like a four-winged mutant of a whale, with three metal horns coming out of it's snout, and Moonface pretty much looked like the actual moon with giant legs.

"Alright, now it's my turn!" Jaden drew his card, "Go, Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000)!"

Jaden's trusty defensive monster appeared on the field, flexing it's arms.

"Next, I'll play a Spell card known as Mud Max!"

Everyone watched, surprised as a large, go-kart like car roared onto the field. They were even more surprised as they watched Clayman hop into the go-kart.

"Dude, is he ripping off _Mad Max_?" Siho looked at his friends, who shrugged.

"This card puts Clayman into overdrive with the boost of 300 more attack points!" Jaden explained, "So guess what Amnael? I'm gonna use him to run over all your Life Points! Go on, Clayman, put the pedal to the metal!"

E-Hero Clayman (1100/2000)

Amnael watched as Clayman sped towards him, "I activate the effect of Elemental Absorber!" he declared, taking another card from his hand, "I'll remove The Rock Spirit (1700/1000) to negate the attack of that EARTH-Attribute monster!" he cried out as his device spun around again until another triangle, this one yellow with a strip near the bottom appeared.

Much like Bubbleman, a defensive wall appeared between Clayman and Eatos the Tin, stopping Clayman from destroying Eatos.

_Man, it's like he can stop the attack of every attribute monster I have in my deck..._ Jaden thought, gulping, _This...will be tough._

"I warned you Jaden, to beat me, you must learn to use your cards in a way that you've never used before!" Amnael patted the Tome under his shirt, "If you do not learn to become a better duelist, then you will be joining your friends sooner than you think!"

"I'll be joining my friends, alright! When I free them!"

Amnael chuckled, "Then you had better 'get your game on' Jaden, because you have already fallen far behind, and are about to fall even further. Observe!" he drew his card, "I activate the Spell card, White Process - Albedo! Thanks to it, I can now summon Golden Homunculus (0/0)!"

Everyone watched as a huge pillar of fire poured out of the earth. Something was coming...something _big_.

"Homunculus?!" Kairi tugged at her hair, "That's it, lemme at him!"

Siho whapped her over the head, "Easy _Winry_...," he muttered.

"_Lust_, _Greed_ hit me!" Kairi whined.

Khamille sweatdropped, _Why do I always end up with weird friends?_

"Forged in fire, Golden Homunculus doesn't work like any other card you've seen," Amnael paused a gigantic, golden golem-like being appeared alongside the Alchemy Beasts, "His attack and defense points are equal to the number of cards that are removed from play and multiplied by 300! So, since I've removed thirteen cards from play, his attack and defense points rise to 3900...," he chuckled, "...and your Life Points are about to become zero!"

Siho looked up at the powered up monster, "Dude...that's one big motha-,"

"That thing is frickin' huge!"

"It is over Jaden, and I was expecting so much more from you. Now, go my Alchemy Beasts, attack him directly! Sonic Shears, Screaming Stream, and Shockwave Slivers!"

The three Beasts let loose a mixture of high-pressured water, glowing scythe-like objects, and a raging fire blast that connected with Jaden...and hard.

**A: 4000  
J: 1000**

"Jaden!" Kairi, Chumley and Khamille cried out.

"Man, he got nailed!" Syrus whimpered.

Siho frowned, _Something's off here...how can Amnael be so prepared against Jaden's deck? No other Shadow Rider they've beaten has survived to tell any others about his deck...so how does Amnael know?_

"But I'm not finished yet...," Amneal raised his arm, "Golden Homunculus, attack! Stone Shard Storm!"

The giant golem roared and fired a rain of heavy slabs of gold onto Clayman. The Elemental Hero was bombarded by the shards and soon, Jaden's field was engulfed with thick smoke.

Amnael looked at the carnage, "You are beaten and-," he paused and peered closer, "Hm?"

Jaden's laugh was heard as the smoke cleared, revealing that Clayman was destroyed at all! Just the Mud Max go-kart.

"Sorry to disappoint ya," Jaden grinned, "But I'm still here! Know why?" he held up Mud Max, "When you attacked, I activated an effect of Mud Max," he explained, slipping the card into his Graveyard, "Now by destroying it, your attack's canceled out...but hold on, Amnael, there's something else! Or, should I say _someone_? I also get to summon an Elemental Hero and I choose Avian (1000/1000)!"

Jaden's faithful, feathered Hero appeared alongside Clayman, who now lost his power upgrade.

E-Hero Avian (1000/1000)  
E-Hero Clayman (800/2000)  
E-Hero Bubbleman (1600/1200)

Alchemy Beast - Eatos the Tin (500/500)  
Alchemy Beast - Echneis the Mercury (500/500)  
Alchemy Beast - Moonface the Silver (500/500)  
Golden Homunculus (3900/3900)

"Impressive..," Amnael nodded slowly.

"I'm not done!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in attack mode!"

Now, to complete the four set, the fiery Heroine appeared between Clayman and Bubbleman, the four Heroes standing proudly shoulder to shoulder.

"Alright guys, let's take out some of these monsters!" Jaden pointed to Eatos, "Go, Avian! Quill Cascade!"

Avian leapt into the air and launched a hailstorm of sharpened feathers at Eatos.

"Go, Elemental Absorber!" Amnael held up a card, "I remove Garuda the Wind Spirit (1600/1200) to negate your attack!" he declared as his device spun around again until a right side-up triangle appeared, green with a stripe near the top.

A veil of whirling air appeared between Eatos and the Quill Cascade, stopping the attack instantly.

"And, since another card has just been removed from play, my Golden Homunculus gains another 300 attack and defense points!"

Golden Homunculus (4200/4200)

"Yeah, yeah...," Jaden glanced at his Heroine, "Now go, Burstinatrix! Flare Storm!"

Burstinatrix launched a large, dark red fireball at the other side.

"I remove Spirit of Flames (1700/1000) to negate your attack!" Amnael declared as a bright red triangle appeared from his Absorber, just before a wall of flames met the fireball, canceling it out.

"Aw man," Syrus shook his head, "Nothing's getting through to do damage!"

Chumley nodded, "It's all because of that Elemental Absorber keeps canceling out his attacks,"

"Oh gawd," Kairi turned away, "Jaden's gonna lose and we're all screwed! I didn't even get to play _Psychonauts _yet!"

Siho raised an eyebrow, "Really? You're missing out on a good game...,"

Jaden grinned at his friend's words, "Guys, no worries! This just means I gotta use something other than my Elemental Heroes then," he plucked a card from his hand, "I play Burst Return! When Burstinatrix is on the field, this card allows me to recall all other Elemental Heroes back to my hand! That means it's time to come home, guys!"

Clayman, Bubbleman, and Avian nodded before vanishing from the field and appearing Jaden's hand once again.

"Next, I'll activate the Spell card Burst Impact!" Jaden held up another card, "Now, all other monsters out besides Burstinatrix are destroyed, and you take 300 points of damage for each of them! Go, Burst Impact!"

Burstinatrix was soon engulfed by a fiery aura and she lobbed a gigantic ball of glowing energy at the opposing side of the field. A huge cloud of smoke and flames erupted, covering Amnaels field completely as his monsters were destroyed.

Amnael yelped in pain as his Life Points decreased. Before the smoke wafted away, a large crack in Amnael's mask appeared.

**A: 2800  
J: 1000**

"He did it!"

"Way to play Jay!"

Khamille whooped, "Finally! He turns it around!"

A loud mewling sound made the group of spectators look down to see Pharaoh standing under them.

"Aw, you're here to help cheer Jaden on?" Syrus smiled as he picked the cat up, "C'mon, you can watch with me,"

Pharaoh mewled angrily and slashed Syrus across the face with his sharp claws. Syrus cried out in pain and dropped the cat, who bounded away, heading straight for Amnael, everyone watching him closely.

"No, Pharaoh!" Jaden waved his arm, hoping to catch the cat's attention, "That guy's dangerous!"

The running to Amnael bit surprised everyone a little, but what _really_ shocked them was that Pharaoh began rubbing up against Amnael's boot.

"Um...," Jaden blinked, confused, "Pharaoh?"

Syrus stared at the cat, "What's going on?"

Chumley shook his head, "Pharaoh's _never_ that friendly with strangers!"

Siho glanced at the large kid, then his eyes turned to the Shadow Rider, "That's right...so Amnael is...,"

"...no stranger to Pharaoh, or to you," Amnael finished reaching up for his mask.

Everyone watched as Amnael slowly lifted his cracked mask off his face and lowered it.

Kairi's jaw dropped while Khamille's eyes went wide.

Syrus shook his head, "It...can't be,"

"No..._no_...," Siho shook his head, "No friggin' way...,"

"Professor Banner?!" Chumley yelped.

There, standing not five feet away from Jaden, wearing the custom duel disk, and holding the book that held their friends captive, was the head of Slifer Red dorm! There was no mistake. The glasses were the same, the hair was the same style (but different color) and the face was the same (despite the presence of thick veins here and there).

Lyman Banner, their friend and their mentor...was the Seventh Shadow Rider!

"Wait a minute!" Jaden pointed to the dried out corpse behind the group, "If _you're _Banner...than who's that mummy?" he asked slowly.

Amnael, or rather, Banner chuckled as he bent down and began to pet Pharaoh, "That mummy is also me," he looked at them all as he picked up the cat, "Oh, my children, there is more going on here than you can _possibly_ imagine...but the truth will be revealed soon enough!"

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Dude, that's messed up! What will happen to our friends now that they know the true identity of Amnael? Find out in the next chapter!**

**P.S. I've seen actual stats of Golden Homunculus, but since I couldn't decide on which one, I just used the system used in the show for this.**

**Hope it was good -bows- Ja ne, folks!**


	69. Full Metal Duelist Part Two

**Full Metal Duelist Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**

**_Last time on GX: Heroes, Jaden and the others discovered that six of the seven Spirit Gates were unlocked. Determined to stop this here and now, the group explored the Abandoned Dorm until they came across a mummified corpse of their beloved Slifer Head, Professor Banner!_**

**_Amnael, the Seventh and Final Shadow Rider challenged Jaden to a duel and Jaden should win, he would get his friends back. Through the duel, Jaden fought hard, but Amnael managed to negate each of his Elemental Heroes attacks thanks to a Trap known as Elemental Absorber. To top it off, he brought out a monster known as Golden Homunculus, a beast whose attack and defense points grew with each removed monster._**

**_But, Jaden found a way to destroy the monsters thanks to a combination of his Elemental Heroes and a few Spell cards. However, as Jaden gained the upper hand, Pharaoh ran over to Amnael and became all cuddly. Everyone knew that Pharaoh was never friendly to strangers, as did Amnael, who revealed himself to be Professor Banner himself!_**

**_Dude...this is some messed up (bleep) right here_**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Professor Banner, _you're_ behind all this?!"

"Of course, Jaden," Banner smirked as he pet his loyal, fat cat, "But, before I defeat you, I may as well tell you the whole story,"

Jaden shrugged lightly, "Hey, knock yourself out...tell away,"

_Yeah, please do..._ Siho grit his teeth, fighting an urge to go and beat the living crap out of the traitor, _Gimme whole story before I break ya neck!_

"Like you, Jaden, I was once a duelist with unlimited potential. I scoured the world for the most rarest and most powerful cards," Banner shot a glance at the group and Siho could swear it was aimed straight for him, "Finally, my travels led me to the ultimate prize, deep under an ancient desert, a lost and forgotten tomb was found. Within it, was a duelists dream! The very first Duel Monster cards!"

Pharaoh mewled and Banner continued to pet him.

"Like Pegasus, years before, I sought out their powers. But the tomb was cursed, and science had no explanation for the magic which ravaged my body. I tried _everything_, but I soon realized that there was only one thing to be done," he stopped petting Pharaoh and held up a hand, "I had to create a _new_ body. Therefore, I used alchemy to create a homunculus, an artificial life form, and I put my own soul inside of it,"

"Uh...say what?" Chumley stared, confused.

"It's like when Dante and Hohenheim of Light used the Philospher's Stone to transfer their souls into numerous bodies, surviving for centuries,"

The spectators turned to look at Kairi, who shrugged.

"Hey, you wanted to know...,"

Banner reached up and lightly scratched his cheek, causing what looked like clay to crumble down his chin, "But, this body is only temporary. It won't be long until I am nothing but dust in the wind. You see, my children, I don't have much time left,"

"Wait a minute," Jaden interrupted, "You're saying...that you're a clone?"

"A clone has a soul at one point or another, through awareness...," Siho crossed his arms, "He's nothing but a shell with a soul inside of it. Just like that book of his that holds Chrissy and them prisoner!"

Banner chuckled, "I think they are a small price to pay. For myself to have renewed life, I need the divine power of the Legendary Demons, Siho," he looked at the ebony-haired Slifer, "At first, I thought it would be a little difficult to open _all_ of the Spirit Gates, since as a Shadow Rider, I couldn't just defeat myself for my Key. I had to give it to someone who wouldn't be able to stand against the power of my Alchemy deck...,"

"Christina...," Siho's eye twitched, "You only gave her the Key because you thought she was easy to pick off once you got the others?!"

Jaden looked at his friend, "Siho, calm down...take it easy, I'll get her back, I promise," he swore, turning back to his former mentor, "You want to do all that, and possibly destroy the world just for that? I'm sorry, Banner, but I can't let you do that!"

"Too late, Jaden, because once you lose the duel, those Demon cards are _mine_!"

"Then..," Jaden lowered his head, "I won't duel," he murmured.

Banner smirked slightly, "Oh, yes you will," he bent down and let Pharaoh go, "Did you just forget about your friends? If you do not defeat me, Jaden, then their souls are mine for eternity! I would think Siho would like to duel me...," he glanced at the other Slifer again, "But I think he has other problems to worry about,"

Jaden snapped his head up and glared at Banner.

"Hehehe...call it your final exam," Banner chuckled, "Win and pass...lose, fail, and lose your soul!"

"Alright then!" Jaden hissed at him, "Bring it on!"

**(Author's Note: Since it has been revealed that Banner is Amnael, the initals in the Life Point meter are changed accordingly)**

**B: 2800  
J: 1000**

E-Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800)

"It was my turn," Banner drew his card and held it up, "With Chaos Greed! It works like this: if there are no cards in my Graveyard, and if four of mine are out of play, I'm allowed to draw two times!" he explained, drawing again. He looked at them and inserted them into his disk, "Both of which are played facedown. Your turn, Jaden,"

_Banner doesn't have any cards in his hand, but with that Elemental Absorber on the field, he can nix any of my attacks! If I ever needed a lucky draw, this is it!_ Jaden thought as he drew his card, "I play my Spell card Pot of Greed!" he drew two new cards, "Next I'll summon Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) and then I'll equip him with Clay Wrap!"

Jaden's bulky monster appeared on the field and was soon covered with a brown goo that melded itself into his body.

"And, with my Polymerization," Jaden held up his Spell card, "I'll fuse Burstinatrix with Clayman to create the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500)!"

Now, Jaden's heavily armored and heavily armed Hero appeared on the field, shield and blaster at the ready.

"Wait a minute, with that, Clay Wrap gets destroyed!" Syrus pointed out.

"Right," Kairi scratched her head, "So why the hell did he do that in the first place?"

Jaden smiled, "When that Clay Wrap card goes to the Graveyard, I can take out one of Professor Clone Dome's Spell or Trap cards, and now, I'm gonna do just that," he pointed at the glowing Trap that had plagued him since the duel started, "Destroy Elemental Absorber!"

Banner held up his arm to protect himself as his trusty Trap card was blasted to smithereens, no longer stopping Jaden and his Elemental Heroes.

"Quite impressive," he coughed, lowering his arm, "But I'm afraid that it'll take a whole lot more to get your friends back,"

Jaden scowled, "You want more? You got it! Rampart, take it to him with Rampart Barrage!"

"FOOL!" Banner yelled as Rampart shot her missles, "It will be _me_ who will take _you_ to the Great Beyond! I activate Macro Cosmos! This Trap card allows me to remove Chaos Distill from play and now, I'll be removing you from this world!" he declared as his distill glowed bright red, then white just before exploding in a very bright explosion.

Everyone covered their eyes as the entire room was engulfed with a blinding white light. After what seemed like forever, the sound of the explosion died down and the bright light went away. Everyone lowered their arms and were stunned to find themselves no longer in the lab underneath the Abandoned Dorm, but in the vastness of space!

Banner smiled at their reaction, "The power of Alchemy flows through me, and it has broken our earthly bonds and taken us here!"

"Well, it's not gonna shake me," Jaden snapped at him, his focus coming back.

"Then, perhaps, _this_ will, Jaden," Banner held up a card, "Thanks to Macro Cosmos, I can now summon _this_ card: Helios - The Primordial Sun (?/?)!"

A strange monster appeared between Jaden and Banner. It's head was replaced with a small sun, while it's body...while it didn't look like it had much physical features, it was wrapped up in gauze like a mummy, some of the gauze unwound.

Siho looked at the monster, then watched as it's points began to grow.

Helios - The Primordial Sun (1100/1100)

"Dude, what the hell?" he looked at Banner, "What just happened?"

Banner turned to him, "The attack and defense of my Helios depends on how many of my own monsters are removed from play. For each monster, she gains 100 points, so since I have eleven monsters removed...," he trailed off.

Jaden was about to say something when a small number of oddly colored bubbles came out of nowhere and began to close in. While he had never seen the bubbles before, he could see something inside...something that he _had_ seen before!

"Chazz!" he called out at the Slifer who was banging hard on his bubble prison.

The others looked at the remaining bubbles to see that Atticus, Jordan, and Alexis were out cold, unlike Christina who was trying to kick the bubbles open.

Siho sighed, _Man...at least I know she's alright in **some** sense_ he thought.

"Don't bother screaming out their names, children, they can't hear you," Banner glanced back at his captives, "They're my prisoners now, much like you all will be for all eternity!" he reached into his robes and pulled out the strange book, "Face it, Jaden, this Tome is your destiny now! Soon, you will be locked within it's pages! A prisoner, a pathetic footnote to my saga of my acension to greatness! Don't you see Jaden, you cannot beat me. You do not have what it takes, you and your friends are finished!"

Banner lowered the book and ran his hand over it, "I've paid for this book with my flesh and blood...I _won't_ lose it a Slifer Red Slacker!"

"Hey!" Jaden glared at him, "Have you forgotten all the matches I've had? All the people I've beaten?"

"Jaden, you naive fool," Banner smirked, "You were just a pawn in my little game, just as Christina was before I took her soul and her Key! All of your matches were fixed, so you would be given a Spirit Key and then, face me in a duel!" he opened his eyes to reveal startling red eyes glaring at them all, "You're nothing but a loser, Jaden!"

Jaden growled, "_All_ of it? Crowler and the Shadow Games were just a setup to make me seem like a great duelist so I would get a Spirit Key to protect?!"

Banner nodded, "Correct, now on with the duel!" he pressed a button on his disk, his second facedown revealing itself, "I play Planet Alignment!"

To make this place even stranger, the planets around them lined up with Helios and everyone could see, as well as feel, the air around them become all distorted. It caused everyone see things in a very, very strange way.

"This card is so powerful...," Banner's voice changed from it's normal tone to a freakishly deep voice as his face swirled around, "...it can warp time and space itself, and it destroys all your monsters, dealing you 300 points of damage!"

Rampart Blaster let out a strange scream before exploding into nothingness, Jaden's Life Points going down in the meantime.

**B: 2800  
J: 700**

As Jaden started to recover, the planets went back to their normal places and the air went back to normal.

Kairi shook her head, "Man...now I know what a hippie sees when they pass the 'Pot o'Weed'...killer," she muttered.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Khamille groaned, holding her stomach.

Jaden slipped a card into his disk, "I guess I'll just throwdown a facedown and end my turn,"

"Very well, my turn now," Banner drew his card, "...and I play a Spell! A real mouthful too...Yellow Process - Kitolinix! But, this card is also a handful, Jaden, for with this card, I can sacrifice Helios - The Primordial Sun," he paused as his strange mummy-like monster disappeared and in it's place, stood a more stocky, fatter version of itself, "Helios Duos Megistus (?/?)!"

Helios Duos did looked alot like the first Helios, but instead of it's thin body and one sun for a head, it had a fatter body, and two suns on top, a small one orbiting the larger one.

"Now, for each monster removed from play, Helios Duos Megistus gains 200 attack and defense points!" Banner explained as his monster glowed, "Since there are twelve monsters removed from play, Duos Megistus gains 2400 points!"

Helios Duos Megistus (2400/2400)

"Now," Banner pointed to Jaden, "Solar Singer!"

Everyone watched as Duos Megistus' body was soon covered by a swirling mass of fire that soon launched itself straight towards Jaden's defenseless field.

"I play my Trap card!" Jaden declared, pressing a button on his disk, "A Hero Emerges! Now, you get to pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monster card, I can summon it to the field!" he held up his hand of three cards.

"One card?" Banner scoffed, "It won't save you," he looked at Jaden's cards and pointed to one, "Center card!"

Jaden grinned widely, "Nice pick...for me, at least," he plucked the card and slapped it onto his disk, "You just picked my Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800)!"

"Alright!" Syrus whooped.

"Way to go, Jaden!" Kairi hopped up and down, "Hero to da rescue!"

Siho glanced at the Hero, then at Helios, _Let's hope this will be enough..._

"And Bladedge has more points than your Helios!" Jaden looked at Banner, a confident smile on his face.

Banner scowled, "Perhaps, but even so, I continue my attack!"

Jaden's smile disappeared and a look of disbelief replaced his confident look, "No way!"

Bladedge stood between Jaden and the flame, then leapt through it and connected it's cold, sharp fist with Helios' larger sun. Helios exploded in a bright flash of light, blinding everyone as a blast of wind blew outward like a shockwave.

**B: 2600  
J: 700**

Banner lowered his arm from his face, "Now, I will activate Duos Megistus' ability! You see Jaden, if she is destroyed in battle, she is instantly resurrected with an extra 300 attack points!"

Helios Duo Megistus reappeared, looking stronger than ever.

Helios Duo Megistus (2700/2400)

"Now, Helios Duo Megistus, attack again with Solar Singer!" Banner ordered.

Once again, Duo Megistus was engulfed with a mighty blaze and shot forward, ramming into Bladedge hard, blasting him to pieces.

**B: 2600  
J: 600**

Jaden looked up after the blast, glaring at him, "You planned that! You _wanted_ me to destroy her!" he accused.

"Yes, because now, she can destroy _you_!" Banner laughed triumphantly.

Jaden growled and drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Once again, Jaden's caped Hero appeared, looking ready to duke it out.

"Since he's alone on the field, I can draw two more cards!" Jaden drew his new cards, "Next, I play Fusion Recovery! This card lets me return Clayman and Polymerization to my hand, and now, I'll use Polymerization to fuse both Bubbleman and Avian (1000/1000) to create the Elemental Hero Mariner (1400/1000)!"

From the combined energy of Bubbleman and Avian, a new Hero was born. This new Hero had a body that looked like a humanoid fish, while blue armor and boots covered it's body, a mane of wild, dark blue hair flowing behind him, two giant anchors on each of his forearms.

"Next, I'll throwdown a couple of facedowns and I'll play Mariner's special ability! See, if I have any Spells or Traps on the field, my Hero Mariner, gets to attack you directly!" Jaden pointed to Banner, "So go get 'im! Anchors Away!"

**(Author's Note: Even _I_ think that's a crappy attack name)**

Banner yelped and stumbled back as Mariner shot one of his arm anchors through his chest, taking a decent chunk of points away from him.

**B: 1200  
J: 600**

"Impressive," Banner wheezed, looking up at Jaden, "Perhaps you are not the loser I thought you were...,"

"_I'm_ a loser?" Jaden repeated, frowning, "At least I know how to use moisturizer,"

"Oi oi oi oi...," Siho, Khamille, and Kairi shook their heads, "Bad joke, Slifer...,"

Banner chuckled, "They're right, Jaden. All you ever do is make jokes. Because of that, you will never become a great duelist! You lack the discipline, the strength! Look at me," he held up his arms, "Look at my power! It's cosmic...you cannot defeat me!" he grinned wickedly, "You'd be better off joining me...yes, as my servant, perhaps. What do you think?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I've got enough friends already...,"

"And very soon, Jaden...you'll be joining these friends of yours in Oblivion! Just watch," Banner drew his next card, "Megistus, attack that Mariner!" he ordered.

For the third time, Duos was soon covered by flames and propelled itself at Jaden's Hero.

"No way, not this time!" Jaden pressed a button again, "I'm playing my facedown card, Mirror Gate!"

Even as the attack ensued, something happened. Mariner appeared on Banner's side, while Duos appeared on Jaden's field.

Syrus blinked at the sudden change, "You guys see that? Their monsters traded sides...,"

Khamille nodded, "That's the power of Mirror Gate,"

Jaden grinned, "Got that right. So now, Mrs Tall, Fried and Fiery is playing on my team!"

Banner smirked slightly and held up a card, "I play a Spell card known as Grand Convergence!"

Once again, the vastness of space around them all was distorted, as well as Banner's voice.

"It's powerful gravity waves destroys all monsters on the field, and deals 300 points of damage to you, Jaden!" he explained as Duos and Mariner were blasted into nothingness.

**B: 1200  
J: 300**

"Then, Megistus returns with even _more_ attack power!" Banner cried as his monster returned to the field, stronger than before.

Helios Duos Megistus (3000/2400)

"Megistus, attack!"

"I don't think so!" Jaden pressed another button, "Go, Spell card! The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!"

All of a sudden, Winged Kuriboh (300/200) appeared and took the fiery attack from Duos Megistus. The furball let out a hoot before being burnt to a complete crisp and leaving the field.

"See, thanks to my friend, all of your Battle Damage this turn goes to zero!" Jaden explained, smiling happily.

Banner chuckled, "Not bad...," he murmured with a nod.

"It gets better!" Jaden continued, drawing his card, "I summon Clayman in defense mode, then I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn," he declared as a card and Clayman appeared on his field.

"Yep, that's what I woulda done," Chumley said, nodding slowly.

Jaden grit his teeth, _That's all I **could** do! After all, I just can't seem to beat that Megistus. Everytime I beat it, it just comes back stronger than before!_

"My turn now," Banner drew his next card and looked at it, "If you thought that Duos Megistus was formidable, just you wait!" he inserted the card into his disk, "I play Red Process - Rubedo, and with it, I sacrifice Helios Duos Megistus to summon Helios Tris Megistus (?/?)!"

This time, _three_ smaller copies of Helios - The Primordial Sun appeared on Banner's field.

"Now, Jaden, for every monster removed from play, Tris Megistus gains 300 attack and defense points, and since thirteen monsters have been removed from play so far...,"

Helios Tris Megistus (3900/3900)

"3900?!" Jaden gawked at the strength of the new trio of monsters.

"It's a shame you don't duel as well as you add," Banner snapped at him, "Now, Tris Megistus, attack with Phoenix Flare!" he commanded.

His three-in-one monsters' bodies were covered completely by an incredibly flame which combined themselves into an almighty form of a great Phoenix before ramming themselves into Clayman, making the Hero bite the dust.

"I play a Trap!" Jaden yelled after the blast, "Hero Signal! Thanks to this, if a Hero is destroyed in battle, I can go through my deck and summon another one," he held up his disk, "So I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400)!"

Banner glared as Jaden's electrical monster appeared on the field, "Now, that he's here, I get to attack again, Jaden! Due to Tris Megistus _very_ special ability...,"

"What?!" Jaden stared in awe as the Megistus trio flared up again.

"Phoenix Flare!"

Once again, Jaden's Elemental Hero, which thankfully was in defense mode, was blasted away by Helios Tris Megistus, leaving him wide open.

_This isn't good..._ Jaden looked up through the dying flames, _I got no monsters, no Spells and no Traps, and if I **am** able to summon out anything, that thing will just attack and destroy it!_ he thought, looking at Tris Megistus, _For once in my life, I don't see how I can win! What am I supposed to do? I don't have any cards in my hand, and no strategy up my sleeve. But if I don't win, then me and all my friends are finished!_

"Hehehe. Goodbye, Jaden...," Banner closed his eyes and smirked, "This has been _quite_ a year,"

"Uh, I'm not done," Jaden said quickly, _Or maybe I am. What if everything Banner said was true? What if I was set up from my first day here? What if I was **never** a good duelist? What if the Professor set everything up so I could win all those matches? Chazz...the Paradox Brothers...Alexis...even Bastion! The Academy would think **I** was great. A wise-cracking Slifer who never lost. Crowler and Shephard would have no choice but to give me a Spirit Key...a Key that held the fate of the world... _he slowly turned around and looked at his watching friends.

Everything he had done, everything thing he had seen.

Chumley dueling his father so he could stay.

Syrus who looked up to his big brother, the Kaiser of the school.

Khamille, who had come here to learn to duel better, against her mothers wishes.

Siho, a close friend of his since day one, as well as Christina who was now floating nearby.

He shook his head at those memories, _NO! I have friends here! Friends who need my help! Even if I am some pawn, I believe in my friends, and I believe in my deck!_

Banner watched Jaden closely, _All of your training and all of your matches have led up to this, the moment of truth..._ he took a deep breath and exhaled quietly, _Make your move Jaden...and make me proud_ he thought with a very small smile.

Jaden looked back at his friends, and he could swear that along with them, he could see images of everyone he had met. Zane, Atticus, Chazz, Alexis, Bastion, Crowler, Syrus, Chumley, Kairi, Khamille, Siho, Jordan, and Christina! Smiling, he turned and looked down at his disk, and was a little surprised to see Winged Kuriboh floating under him, hooting.

With a smile, he reached down and grabbed hold of his top card, "GET YOUR GAME ON!"

He drew his card and held it out to Banner. It had a strange symbol, that resembled a circle made up four colors, but int he middle of it, the letter H could be seen.

"Check this out! Miracle Fusion!"

Banner's eyes widened at the card, "Miracle Fusion?!"

Jaden squinted as his deck and disk suddenly glowed a bright golden light. Burstinatrix, Clayman, Avian, and Bubbleman arose from his Graveyard and began to swirl around, mixing into one another as a bright, rainbow light appeared above Jaden.

"Oooh...pretty lights," Kairi squealed.

Siho grinned, "C'mon, Jaden...bring out a badass!"

"Pretty tight huh?" Jaden looked at Banner, "See, Miracle Fusion fuses all the Elemental Heroes that are in my Graveyard and creates the one and only Elemental Hero Electrum (2900/2600)!"

The rainbow light faded away and standing proudly on the field was a large, well built monster in shiny, golden-green armor with a large E in the center of his chest.

"And Electrum's got one sweet ability!"

Banner looked down at his disk in horror as all the removed monsters were being sucked into his deck.

"All of my monsters...what is going on?! They're returning to my deck!"

"Just the ones removed from play," Jaden explained, "So, with no more removed monsters, Helios' attack points are back to zero!"

Helios Tris Megistus (0/0)

"Now, Electrum, attack with Elemental Radiant Burst!"

Electrum glowed a bright mixture of colors, mostly blue and white, covering the field, his rays shining on Megistus, blowing them all to pieces.

**B: 0  
J: 300**

Banner screamed as the field returned to normal, the gang returning to the lab and the mystical Tome fell to the floor, the eye symbol breaking into small bits and pieces.

As Jaden's disk turned itself off, the whole room began to shake violently.

"EARTHQUAKE!"

"HIT THE DECK!"

-----

At that very moment, the six Spirit Gates closed and the laser beams of light that surrounded the island disappeared.

One by one, the duelists held captive in Banner's Tome. Chazz materialized, laying against a tree near his duel against Amnael. Alexis, Jordan and Christina appeared back on the field, Christina's head on Jordan's back. Atticus appeared back in his room, unconcious, just as the rest of them were.

-----

"That's game, Banner," Jaden said quietly, walking up to his former mentor.

"LEMME GO!"

"Siho, calm down!"

"LEMME GO, I WANNA KILL THAT BASTARD!"

Banner and Jaden looked to see Siho struggling to get free of Kairi's and Khamille's hold.

The former Slifer head coughed violently as Siho slowly approached them, "Siho...I know how you must be feeling. I'm sorry for what I've done, but I had to do it...,"

"Like hell you did!" Siho screamed at him, "We _trusted_ you! We thought you were on our side! When you disappeared, we thought you were taken out by the last Rider, but we were wrong! You're nothing but a damn traitor!"

Banner coughed again, "Siho...Jaden," he took a breath, "Listen carefully to me, my children. Jaden, I lied to you-,"

"There's a surprise,"

"Hush, Siho," Khamille hissed.

"Jaden, you won all those duels of yours," Banner lifted his head, parts of his face crumbling away, "I said that you didn't to test you...to prepare you for the _real_ threat that will come to the island. That is why I became a Shadow Rider. Not to take over the world, but to stop the one who was truly trying to. To stop him, by forcing you to be a better duelist, Jaden, so you can face him and hopefully, defeat him,"

Banner held up his hand and tried to catch the pieces of clay flesh that tumbled down his face, "You see, the threat is so grave, I _had_ to decieve you," he made a small smile and looked at them all, "My children, I hope you can forgive me...and Siho," he looked at the enraged Slifer, "I know how you must feel about deception...but I'm not the only one who has been decieving you. There are other people out there who want you for your...burden,"

"What do you mean?" Siho asked, looking somewhat calmer now.

"You and Christina...," Banner coughed violently, sending more bits of clay flesh away, "You two have a destiny together. While you struggle with your inner demons, she will be there to guide you along the way. Rely on one another's strengths...together, you two should be able to achieve your destiny,"

Before Siho could ask what he meant, Banner picked up his Tome and held it out to Jaden, "Take this, my boy...,"

"But...," Jaden reached for it and took it by one end, "This is _your_ book,"

"It is mine no longer...as I am no longer...apart of...this world...,"

Those were Banner's final words before his whole body crumbled into nothing. The only thing that now sat in his place were his robes, and a large pile of dirt and clods. At that moment, the mummy of Banner's original body disintegrated.

Jaden looked at the coffin, "It's over...he's really gone...,"

Kairi quickly turned away from the piles of dirt and buried her face into Khamille's shoulder, her sobbing muffled by the Slifer's blazer.

Khamille did her best not to shed any tears, but she couldn't stop the ones rolling down her cheeks.

"So, what do we do now?" Syrus asked, turning to Jaden.

Chumley looked at the two of them, "I guess we have to be on the look out for a terrible evil that wants to take over the world and possibly destroy as while he's at it,"

"Well yeah, but when aren't we doing that?"

Jaden shook his head as he stared at the Tome, "No...this is different you guys," he looked up at his friends, "Banner gave his life to prepare us for what's coming...," he looked back down and ran his hand along the edges of the book.

_I just hope we're ready, because whatever we're about to face is unlike anything we've seen before!_ he thought, looking up at the ceiling.

"Siho, where ya going?"

At Syrus' words, Jaden and the others turned to see Siho slowly walking out of the lab.

"Siho? Are you okay?" Jaden called after him.

The ebony-haired Slifer stopped and slowly turned around, a strange look in his eyes. A look that was a mixture of sadness and anger.

"I'm fine...I'm just gonna go find Chrissy and bring her back to the dorm. You guys take care," he said evenly, turning around and waving at them as he left.

While the other Slifers watched their friend leave, no one noticed that a ball of light had emerged from Banner's remains. They also didn't know that Pharaoh opened his mouth widely and swallowed the orb, making it rest within him.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Well, that's that. The Cocytus Four have been defeated, as well as the Seven Shadow Riders. Banner said that a greater evil was coming their way, but can the gang handle it? Can Siho deal with what Banner told him? Who knows...but all I know is that something big is coming...something _real_ big.**


	70. Delusional Love

**Delusional Love**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_"Chazz...Chazz...wake up, Chazz. It's Alexis! I want to tell you how much you mean to me, how much I love you! Wake up! Wake up...!"_

"Wake up! Boss, wake up!"

Chazz's eyes popped open and the first thing he saw was Ojama Yellow floating right over his face.

The yellow spirit leaned in close, "What's wrong with ya, Chazz? You look happy...who're you dreamin' of, Romeo?"

Chazz ignored his yellow spirit as he looked up at the sky, _My new love..._

-----

With all the Shadow Riders, and all the Cocytus members being defeated, Jaden and the others thought that they would enjoy some peace and quiet...but that didn't happen at all. As Jaden and his gang walked through the courtyard, heading for the main building, dozens, if not hundreds of students from each dorm stood on either side of the cement path, cheering and rooting for him.

"Way to go, Jaden!"

"Way to stick it to those Shadow Riders!"

"Totally!"

Jaden grinned and waved at his adoring fans, "Thank you! Thank you, I'll be signing some autographs later!"

Syrus looked from side to side, "Check it out, guys...everyone thinks we're heroes!"

**(Author's Note: possible ref to title? WHO KNOWS?!)**

"If you ask me, I prefer a hero sandwich," Chumley commented, listening to the cheers.

Christina waved frantically at the onlookers, "SHOW US THE LOVE DUEL ACADEMY! I HAD SOME HELP IN THIS, TOO!"

Khamille facefaulted and turned to Siho as Kairi waved at the fans, "She's a needy little thing, isn't she?"

"Heh," Siho shrugged lightly, grinning, "Just let her have her moment. She _did_ help out with Cocytus, and even if a few people know about that, let her bask in the glory,"

Khamille shook her head, "Speakin' of Cocytus, what exactly are we gonna do about the big one-eyed fella in our dorm?"

"What, you didn't notice?" Siho looked back at her, a surprised look on his face, "He's gone. He left a note saying that he was sorry for what he did, and he's gone off to pursue better dueling opportunities...,"

Again, Khamille facefaulted, "You're kiddin' me...,"

"Nope,"

-----

"What's up with Chazz?"

"You won't believe it! The Boss...is in love!"

"In _love_?!"

"That's right!"

Ojama Black, Ojama Green and Ojama Yellow turned to see Chazz sitting up.

Chazz reached into his jacket and pulled out his deck, "Which means I won't have time for _you_ guys anymore," he murmured just as a strong wind came and blew all the cards out of his hand. The three Ojama Spirits screamed as they blew away with their physical counterparts.

"_She_ has my heart now," Chazz sighed, looking down at the courtyard from his place on the Academy's rooftop, _Alexis...and I **know** that she feels the same way about me! It wasn't just a dream. When she and I were trapped in that vortex, I felt her heart there, in the blackness of space, the eternity of time! Her soul told me that she loved me, that were destined to be together! Okay, maybe not like that, but I felt it! We were meant to be together!_

"But _who_ does she hang out with?!" Chazz clenched a fist, "It's either her family: Atticus and Jordan, or even worse...Jaden!"

Sighing loudly, Chazz turned away and looked towards the docks. There, he saw a few familiar figures. Squinting, he got a better look at them. There, on the dock, was Alexis herself, and Zane Truesdale.

"Oh yeah...Zane, too," Chazz grit his teeth, "There's so much competition, this is gonna be tough...,"

-----

"I'm glad you're okay,"

"_Okay_?" Alexis glanced at Zane, "I was taken hostage by some clone of someone who I thought was our Professor!"

Zane chuckled lightly, "Yeah, but things like that aren't too uncommon around here, ya know?" he turned and smiled a little, "Maybe...you need a bodyguard?" he offered.

Alexis turned and met his eyes, "Oh? Ya think so? Well, thanks, but no thanks, I can handle myself, just fine Zane. Even so, it's nice to know that you care,"

"Lexi," Zane's smile widened by a small fragment, "I'll miss once I graduate from here,"

Alexis smiled and looked away, feeling her cheeks go warm.

Clearing his throat, Zane looked back out at the ocean, "So, uh, your brother's back to normal, now, huh?"

Alexis scoffed, "Yeah, if you can call that _normal_," she shook her head, "What worries me now is what habits Jordy may pick up from him now that he's fine,"

"May the Egyptian Gods help us all," Zane cracked.

-----

_How can I get her to notice me?_

Chazz sat on the beach, staring at the waves and moping as a large crab scuttled sideways as the tide went back and forth. His answer came in the form of a young man with long, brown hair, wearing a wetsuit and riding a surfboard.

"That's it!" Chazz watched as the surfer made his way through a tunnel of falling water, "Alexis' brother Atticus! That's it! _He'll _help me!"

"Hang ten, Chazz-dude!"

Chazz snapped to reality at Atticus' words, just as Mindy and Jasmine sped past him in their bikini's, squealing at the top of their lungs.

"Autograph please?" Mindy asked shyly, holding out a large notebook.

Atticus smiled and grabbed the notebook, "Sure no problem," he said as he wrote into the paper before handing it back, "There ya go,"

Both girls looked at what he had written and squealed.

"He wrote B.F.F!" they cried.

"That's right ladies. It means...," Atticus raised a finger to the beautiful sky, smiling a charm smile to the two girls, "Best Friends Forever!"

Mindy and Jasmine squealed again before falling backward onto the sand, fainting.

Atticus shook his head, still smiling, "That _always_ seems to happen...,"

Chazz stared at Atticus, _This guy is a chick magnet **and** Alexis' brother! He's my way in..._

"Atticus!" he fell to his hands and knees, head bowed to the surfing Obelisk, "Ya gotta help me! PLEASE!"

Atticus looked down at Chazz, a bewildered look on his face, "Huh?"

-----

Later, after much explaining, Chazz and Atticus sat on the beach, looking out at the sunset.

"So, Chazz...," Atticus chuckled, "You wanna date with my sister, huh? Well, keep dreamin'!"

"Huh?!" Chazz turned and looked at him, stunned at what he had just heard.

"Kidding!" Atticus grinned slyly, "Ya see, Chazz, if ya wanna date her, ya gotta _impress_ her!" he wagged a finger, "And the best way to do that, is to duel her!"

"Duel...Alexis?"

"Mhm," Atticus glanced at him, "She _loves _dueling, and if you beat her, she'll be all yours! That's if, you let all your cards do the talkin',"

Chazz sighed and looked back at the ocean, "I...uh...sorta ditched my cards," he mumbled.

"Guess again, Boss!"

"Huh?" Chazz looked to his right to see the three Ojama's floating towards him, Pharaoh trotting behind them with Chazz's deck in his mouth.

"We put your deck back together, Boss!" Yellow said proudly.

Black whopped his brother over the head, "_I _put the deck back togetha, knucklehead!"

Chazz ignored the arguing brothers and took the cards from the fat cat's mouth, then handed his deck to Atticus, "Here...,"

Atticus fanned the cards out and shook his head, "Aw, no no no...this is not cool at all! Chazz, what you need is some 'Love' cards...,"

"Love cards?"

"Right," Atticus handed the deck back, "I'll help you out there, but the only question is how do we get her to duel you?"

Chazz looked at his Ojamas, as if wanting to ask them, "Uh...,"

After a few moments, Atticus grinned slyly, _I think I know just what to get her to duel..._ he thought devillishy.

-----

That night, in his office, Shephard was putting away some documents into his bag, ready to leave for the night. Ready to leave when...

He snapped his head to the side, eyes scanning the room, "Who's there?" he asked loudly.

No answer.

"That's odd. I could've sworn I just heard-," he stopped and shook his head, then reached under his desk and pulled out the case that now held the Seven Spirit Keys. After making sure they were safely in the case, he sighed in relief, "Still there...,"

_But with that threat that Jaden was warned about by that last Shadow Rider, we can't be too careful..._ Shephard thought as he looked for a new hideaway for the vital keys. Quietly, he closed the case and walked over to a nearby potted tree. He picked up said tree and placed the box under the roots and soil before lowering the tree back down.

With that, Shephard grabbed his bag off his desk, walked towards his door, turned off the light and passed through the sliding doors.

Seconds later, the side door in his office opened up and Chazz slipped in. As he made his way to the desk, a dark figure dropped in front of Chazz from above, startling the crap out of him. Quickly, the figure clamped a hand over the panicky Slifer's mouth. Chazz stared at Atticus, who wore a ninja outfit, and an old burglar's head covering, which supposedly was to muffle his breathing.

"You're late," the Obelisk hissed, moving his hand away, "Now, let's do this, shall we?"

-----

The next morning...

"THE SPIRIT KEYS ARE MISSING!"

Shephard stared at the empty case, not believing what he had seen. Well, almost empty case. Attached to the underbelly of the case lid, was a note. Frowning, he ripped it off and looked at it, then his disbelief grew.

"A confession...from _Chazz_?!"

-----

After being told what had happened, and a long trek of running, Jaden and the whole gang stopped at the beach, where they saw something surprising. Chazz stood a short ways away, duel disk ready and all seven Spirit Keys around his neck.

"Chazz has the keys!" Syrus half-shouted.

"This isn't funny, Chazz, give them back!" Alexis warned him.

Chazz shook his head, "Sorry, but not now,"

Alexis raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Alright, _when_?" she asked, half-sarcastic, half-curious.

"When you...," Chazz gulped, "...and I duel! Let's go, Alexis!" he croaked out.

Alexis stared at him in silence, not sure if she had heard him right.

"Uh...Chazz?" Jaden waved a little at him, "Why do ya wanna duel Alexis?"

"Because...because I'm in love!" Chazz declared, "So is Alexis, but she just doesn't know it yet! She will soon enough, though!"

Siho shook his head while Khamille, Kairi and Chrissy slowly turned to look at Alexis, somewhat ill looks on their faces.

Alexis glared at him, "Honestly, Chazz, what the hell gave you _that_ idea?!"

"Because I told him!"

"Hi Lexi!"

Everyone looked to the ocean to see Atticus standing on a boat, wearing a Hawaiian print shirt, shorts, and playing a ukelele. Jordan sat in the same boat, wearing his normal Ra colors.

Zane rolled his eyes, "Okay, Atticus I can understand, but Jordy, why you?" he asked slowly.

Jordan glanced back and forth at his cousins, "Well, Atticus said that Alexis needed some help in her love life, so I thought if I helped out, she might be happy...although," he glared at Chazz, "Atticus didn't say _who_ would be involved in her love life...,"

_But it's worth it if I can get Atticus' advice on getting Christina to notice me!_ Jordan added mentally, glancing at the Amazoness-user.

"Anyway, Lexi, don't you see?" Atticus strummed the strings of his mini-guitar, "He stole the Spirit Keys for _you_!"

"And..._that's_ romance?" Syrus murmured, feeling a tad sick to his stomach, "That's news to me,"

"I second that," Jaden agreed.

_At times like this, I wish he was back in a coma_ Alexis thought, staring at her brother, _He even got Jordy roped into this!_

"Anyone up for just tackling him?" Zane wondered aloud, face in his hand.

"Oh! Oh!" Siho waved his arm around like a little kid, "C'mon, lemme and Chrissy! We'll tackle him, beat the crap out of him, then send him out to the sharks bare ass naked!"

Everyone slowly turned and stared at him.

"Sorry...," Siho cleared his throat, "Got caught up in the moment,"

"What's the holdup?!" Chazz shouted, growing irritated.

Alexis glanced back at her family, then back to Chazz and sighed, _I guess **one** duel wouldn't hurt..._

"C'mon!" Atticus yelled from his little boat.

"FINE!" Alexis snapped, a vein throbbing in her head, "I'll duel or whatever,"

Chazz smiled widely at his 'victory' while Atticus waved a fan around, shouting positive mojo to him.

"One thing though, Chazz," Alexis said slowly, "Even if I _lose_, the Keys go back...got it?"

"Alright, but I get something to take their place...," Chazz pointed to her, "You as my girlfriend! Then, we can hold hands, take walks...that's the deal!"

Siho turned away, tongue sticking out, "For the love of Ra put me outta my misery now,"

Chrissy grinned as she raised her fist, aiming for Siho's head when Bastion stopped her.

"He was kidding," he whispered, "Although, if this keeps up, you can do that to both of us,"

"Yay!" Christina clapped her hands happily, then turned Siho around, "Watch da duel, O Sickened One,"

"Fine, whatever, that's the deal!" Alexis agreed, turning on her duel disk, her deck at the ready, "But that's not gonna happen, so let's do this Chazz!"

Chazz chuckled as he turned on his own duel disk, "I'll show you that you _do_ love me!"

"Let's duel!"

**C: 4000  
A: 4000**

"Alright...," Chazz drew his sixth card, "I'll start with Ojama Yellow (0/1000)!" he declared, slapping one of his many trademark monsters onto his disk.

Yellow appeared on the field, smiling at Alexis, "The Boss thinks you're cute!"

"Shaddup!" Chazz snapped, "Next, after placing two cards facedown," he paused and inserted two cards into his disk, then held up a new card, "I play the Spell card Love Letter, and here's how it works: if I have a facedown _and_ a monster sitting on my field, you get a gift. Either my monster, or my facedown card becomes yours! Aren't I sweet? But don't worry, that's the first of many gifts you'll be getting from me,".

Alexis began to feel sick, her face dropping at Chazz's antics.

"The Chazz knows how to treat his ladies...,"

"I'm _not_ your lady, Chazz!" Alexis snapped at him, the vein coming back, "But if I have to take your gift, fine...I'll take one of your facedowns,"

Chazz smiled and looked at his second facedown, _Perfect! It's going just the way it's supposed to be! Atticus was right, dueling is like old-fashioned courting!_

_-_Inside Chazz's own, twisted mind_-_

**_Her taking my facedown card would be just like her taking a Valentine card from me. A Valentine card that...I would've been too nervous to give in real life, but with Atticus' help..._**

_Chazz hid behind a large tree, watching shyly as Alexis walked by, not even seeing him there, holding a card in his hand. As she walked by, someone's hand tapped Chazz's shoulder, making him turn around._

_Atticus stood behind him, his hand pointing towards the sky, "Onwards and upwards, Chazz! If you can't charm her, duel her!"_

_"Okay...," Chazz nodded slowly, "Sure,"_

_"Then go for it!" Atticus grinned as he gave a thumbs up._

_Chazz nodded again and ran out into the open, heading straight for Alexis. As soon as he caught up with her, he gave her the card. As Chazz laughed nervously, Alexis gasped in surprise and at the card._

-Back in reality...-

Alexis watched as Chazz's facedown card came to her field.

"But there's more, Lex!" Chazz held up another Spell card, "Next, I play Giant Trunade! What this does is force all Spells and Traps back to our hands, so I'll take back my facedown...,"

-Inside his messed up delusional world again-

_Alexis and Chazz ran towards each other, laughing happily, arms opened wide for a loving embrace._

_"Chazzy!" Alexis waved the Valentine card, "From me to you!" she called as a wind blew the card out of her hand._

_Chazz laughed as he jumped up and caught the card._

-Reality again-

Chazz looked as his two cards came back, then plucked the one on the right, holding out. It had a picture of a shy boy watching a beautiful girl walk away from him.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, giving this back to me so soon. I think I'll play it," Chazz waved it a little, "Hidden Wish! When this card returns from the opponent's field back to me, it deals 1000 points of damage to you...,"

"Oh no!" Alexis' eyes widened abit at her loss.

"And_ I_ get an extra 1000 points,"

**C: 5000  
A: 3000**

"So, I guess I should say 'Thanks darling, I knew us dueling would bring us closer together'," Chazz said, placing a hand over his heart, "So, are you feeling the sparks?" he asked, eyes wide and gleaming.

Alexis facefaulted, not liking the look in his eyes at all.

On the sidelines, Syrus groaned, holding his stomach, "I'm feeling nauseous...,"

"I'm feeling very creeped out," Christina muttered, looking away from Chazz.

"Next, I'll activate my other facedown," Chazz held up a Trap card, "It's called Treasure Map! Once I send it to the Graveyard, I get to draw two new cards," he explained, slipping the card into the large slot and drawing his new cards, "Now I'll lay them both facedown and end my turn,"

"Alright, Chazz, let's go!" Alexis drew her card, "I summon Blade Skater (1400/1500) in attack mode!" Alexis declared as her purple-clothed, blade-armed monster appeared on her field, "Now, Blade Skater, attack that Ojama Yellow! Whirlwind Wrecker!**(1)**"

Ojama Yellow watched in fear as Blade Skater spun so fast, she became a tornado, heading straight for him.

"BOSS!" he screamed in fear.

"Go!" Chazz pressed a button on his disk, "Ring of Destruction!"

A large, ring of red grenades flew from the card and attached itself to Blade Skater, stopping her spinning seconds before causing her to explode.

"Now, we both get hit," Chazz smiled as the smoke cleared, "With your Blade Skater's attack points...like a couple,"

**C: 3600  
A: 1600**

"That's so romantic," Atticus nodded, strumming his instrument again, "After all, what's love without a little pain?"

"Uhm...a relationship that's not too much into leather and stuff?" Siho cracked, making Christina bite her tongue in an attempt not to laugh.

Alexis rolled her eyes at her brother, "Please...," she glanced at Jordan, "Jordy, it's not too late for you, come over here to the side that actual has common sense,"

Jordan looked back and forth at his cousins, "Uhm...,"

"Hey, we're dueling, remember?!" Chazz drew his card, "If you don't get what I mean, then maybe this will help you. I place the Spell card Graceful Charity! Now, I draw three new cards and discard two from my hand," he explained, drawing and discarding the mentioned cards, "Look! Pot of Greed! Guess this means I get another two new cards," he drew his new cards again, "Now, it's time for my facedown...Ojama Trio! Now, three Ojama Tokens (0/1000) chill out on your field in defense mode, and if any of them are destroyed, you lose 300 Life Points! It's so great to share...,"

Alexis looked down in disgust as the three ugly monsters looked back at her, shaking their bikini clad butts at her.

"Next, I'll play my Spell card Polymerization!" Chazz declared as the other two Ojama's appeared on his field, "Let's go guys! Ojama Black, Ojama Green and Ojama Yellow! Fuse together and become Ojama King (0/3000)!"

The three Ojama's grabbed hold of one another and flew into the air, spinning faster and faster until finally, all three of disappeared and in their place, the very large, and overweight royal Ojama appeared on Chazz's field, his cape fluttering behind him while his bikini briefs stuck to both forehead and lower areas.

"Thanks to Ojama King's special ability, up to three of your monster zones are re-classified as occupied!"

Alexis looked down and watched as a small Ojama King lookalike appeared on her side and stamped large, red circles on the remaining two monster zones on her disk.

_No! Now, I have no room to play any new monster cards! I'll be defenseless!_ she thought, eye twitching.

"Next, I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn," Chazz finished, slipping a card into his disk, "So tell me, are you feeling the fuzzies yet? After all, I've filled up your field to show you that my heart is full of love...right?" he asked, using the big eyes again.

Syrus shook his head at Chazz's actions, "He is so gone...,"

Bastion coughed lightly, "Well...it is...sort of romantic," he murmured, making everyone around him turn and stare at him.

Alexis looked down at her hand, _If I can just get **her** on the field, I just might have a chance, but I can't even sacrifice those Ojama freaks to summon her!_

"Wait, I think I got it!" she held up a card.

All three Tokens and Atticus looked at her, curious, "Got what?" they asked together.

_This little move should throw Chazz-a-nova for a loop..._ she thought, looking at her opponent, "I place this card facedown and that is it for me," she declared.

"Fine, my turn!" Chazz drew his card, "I play a little card I like to call Dress Up!" he looked up and watched as a large, white tuxedo appeared on his Ojama monster, "The new duds give Ojama King an extra 300 attack points," he explained.

"Thanks for the threads!" King laughed as his points went up.

Ojama King (300/3000)

"And, it's got another bonus! I can switch one of your monsters into attack mode!" Chazz waved his hand to her dramatically, "Another gift to you,"

Syrus blinked, confused, "Wait...all of her monsters have zero attack points...,"

"No joke," Jaden agreed, "If Chazz destroys an Ojama, she'll get dealt 300 points of damage, and the bad thing is, he can keep doing this over and over again, dealing 1800 points of damage to her!"

"Got that right, Slacker," Chazz smiled confidently, "Then she will lose the match, and I'll win a girlfriend!"

_EW! Me and Chazz a couple?!_ Alexis watched as Chazz laughed, _No way...I better do something fast!_

After a few moments, Chazz finally calmed down, "Alright, let's see. I could finish you off and win you as my girlfriend but...," he put his hands together, "What would The Chazz having a girlfriend mean if she wasn't madly in love with me?!"

"I agree!" King yelled.

Christina growled and tugged hard on Jaden's hair, "So, he's not gonna do the forcing of monsters into attack mode?! MAKE UP YOUR MIND MAN!"

"Chrissy, leggo, my scalp's being ripped off!" Jaden pleaded, trying to shake her loose.

"Look out below!" King shouted, descending onto Alexis' field, "Here I come!"

Ojama Black glared at King and launched himself like a bullet, ramming him hard in the gut, "Take dat, Chowdahead!"

**C: 2900  
A: 1600**

"See what a nice guy I am?" Chazz asked, "But there's more...I play the Trap called Dramatic Crossroads! It's decision time, so pay attention! Option Number One: You discard a card. Option Number Two: You show your entire hand to me, and then I am allowed to take one of your cards for myself!"

Kairi scratched her head, "Uhm...I lost. Why the hell would Alexis do _that_?"

Chazz smirked, "Because, if Alexis _really_ loves me, then she'll trust me and let me see her hand," he explained his strange sense of love-stricken logic, "She'll give me her very best card as proof of our love! Then, she and I will live happily ever after!"

Alexis growled, staring at Chazz as he began to lose it again in his sea of delusional feelings.

"So now, make your choice, Alexis,"

"Okay, Chazz...listen up," Alexis folded her arms and looked straight at him, "You're _never_ gonna see _my_ cards, got it?"

Chazz gawked at her and fell over, "I've been shot down?!"

"Listen, Chazz...you wanna know who I'm in love with?" she held up her disk, smiling, "I'm...in love with dueling,"

"Dude," Christina looked at Siho while Atticus ran over to Chazz in an attempt to comfort him, "Chazz just got _burned_! I knew if I didn't leave, sick to my stomach, something good would come out of it!"

Bastion raised an eyebrown and leaned in between the two Slifer's heads, "Christina, I must say you are quite an enigma...,"

"Aw, thanks, Bastion," she smiled and slapped him on the back, making him stumble, "Glad to know you think well of me,"

"But," Siho started and shook his head, "Nevermind, Chrissy. Just watch the duel,"

Christina snapped back to dueling spectator mode and watched as Alexis slipped a card into her Graveyard.

Alexis looked at the new card she just drew, "Alright, Chazz...," she grinned and eyed him, "If you want a real wedding, then here's your chance! I play the Spell Ritual Sanctuary!"

Seconds after her cry, the beach disappeared and Chazz found himself inside a large church as a big golden bell rang loudly.

"By discarding one Spell card, I'm able to add any Ritual Spell cards from my deck to my hand!" Alexis explained as she exchanged cards, "Now I'll play it! Machine Angel Ritual!"

The Church's interior was soon changed from traditional decorations to a silvery color.

Chazz looked around, "What the?!"

A bright red light from above made him look up to see a red glow in the ceiling.

"Now, with any monster that has Cyber Angel in it's name, I get to summon," Alexis explained to him.

Chazz smirked, "No way! Thanks to those Ojama Tokens, you don't have any monster zones open for a new monster!" he reminded her, "Plus, you can't get rid of them!"

"Oh..._yes_ I can! Remember, this is a Ritual Summoning!"

"So what? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Everything, Chazz! Because that no sacrifice rule, doesn't apply to Ritual Summonings!" Alexis grinned as the three Token monsters disappeared in a flash of light, "And the monster I'm summoning requires to me to sacrifice all three Ojamas, and since they're not being destroyed, I don't lose any Life Points! But you sure will, Chazz...," she raised her hand to the ceiling, "So come on out, Cyber Angel Benten (1800/1500)!"

From the glow of the ruby light in the ceiling, a beautiful woman descended. She wore a tight suit, red and white colors mixed in while a golden tiara adorned her head. Her glowing green eyes staring straight at Chazz as she spun her chained nunchaku around before coming to a halt, the ends of the weapons spreading out into a fan.

"Cyber Angel Benten, attack his King!" Alexis ordered, pointing to the large, well dressed Ojama, "Angel Blight Flurry!".

Chazz watched helpless as his tux-ed out Ojama was practically bitch-slapped with the fanned-nunchaku before getting blown to bits.

**C: 1400  
A: 1600**

"Now, for Cyber Angel's special ability," Alexis continued as her monster came back, "You get dealt damage equal to your destroyed monsters defense points! I'm sorry, _Chazzy_...,"

Chazz stood there gaping as the church disappeared, "But...that would leave The Chazz with nothing...," he muttered, falling to his knees.

**C: 0  
A: 1600**

"She...she beat me. My darling beat me," Chazz lowered his head, "So much for true love...which," he held up a finger, "...is fine, because The Chazz always rides alone!" he shouted, rising to his feet as the waves crashed behind him.

Christina facefaulted and shrugged, "Well, at least he recovered from being dumped fast...I guess that counts for _something_ in life...,"

Siho was about to say something to that remark when the whole island began to shake. Everyone tried their best not to lose their footing.

"Dude, what the hell's goin' on?!" Kairi screamed, clinging to Khamille.

Jordan scrambled to his family, teetering here and there while everyone else held onto each other.

Siho was one of the few people who kept a calm disposition about him. He was so calm, in fact, he actually smiled at the turn of events, though, none of the others saw it. They didn't even see the change in Siho's eyes as the grin spread across his face.

Jaden looked around, his heart telling him exactly what it was.

"The thing Banner warned us about! It's here!"

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Dun dun dun...from the trials of love, to the shaking of the earth as an evil force approaches Duel Academy Island. What is it, and can Jaden and the gang stop it once and for all?!**

**(1) I didn't know what this was supposed to actually say, so yeah.**


	71. The Demons Awaken Part One

**The Demons Awaken Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Deep underground, as the island shook violently, the Spirit Gates glowed a bright light, followed by a bright, green light bursting from the locks and up through the roof, shooting into the sky like some kind of light signal.

The light soon disappeared, but the vibrations that shook the island didn't. In the dense forest, many trees were uprooted as seven smooth, long monument-like towers shot through the ground, sending trees and huge chunks of dirt falling to the ground as they jutted upwards at different angles.

The onlooking crowd of Duel Academy students didn't have much time to look at them, because soon after the towers appeared, they were chasing Chazz through the forest, who was running as fast as he could, the Spirit Keys glowing and pulling him through the dense foliage.

They didn't have to go far, as Chazz was soon liberated from the hostage taking Spirit Keys by being knocked in the neck with a passing tree branch, leaving him to fall on his ass while the Keys floated up to the jutting structures.

"Dude, what the hell is goin' on?!" Christina half-shouted, staring at the Keys as the gang entered a recently made, perfect circle of a clearing.

Zane grit his teeth and watched as the Key's disappeared into the structures, "The Keys are being absorbed by the pillars!"

"What did you _do_, Chazz?!" Jordan and Alexis snapped, glaring at the exhausted Slifer.

Chazz cringed, "It's not my fault!" he pleaded, eyes wide.

"Children!"

Everyone turned to see Shephard, Crowler, and even Vahn Gale running up to them.

"What's happening?" Crowler asked as they came to a stop, then glanced at Jaden, "I suppose that all this is _your _fault...,"

Jaden frowned, "Hey, _I_ didn't steal the Keys...,"

"It was Chazz!" everyone else said at once, pointing at the quiet Slifer.

"I...I was just _borrowing_ the Keys for Alexis!" Chazz said defensively, grinning a little.

_WHAP_

"DON'T YOU DARE DRAG LEXI INTO YOUR MESS!" Jordan yelled, holding up a fist after hitting Chazz upside the head.

Before anyone else could ask or say anything about the situation, the ground began to shake again as a large, square object slowly rose from the ground. Everyone watched in curiousity as another, smaller object appeared on top, followed by a bright orb of light. Inside the orb, were three cards. One was blue, one was yellow, and one was red.

Christina was about to ask what those were, but stopped as Siho made his way past them all, walking straight for the three cards.

"Dude, what's Siho doing?" Jordan asked, watching the Slifer walk towards the cards.

Jaden shook his head and stared at the cards for a few moments before realizing what they were, "Those are the...,"

"Legendary Demon cards!" Chazz finished, "Zolaro, get the hell outta there!" he yelled.

Siho only kept walking, ignoring Chazz's shouts.

"Dammit," Chazz glanced at Jaden, "We gotta bring him back over here before he takes those things out!"

Jaden nodded, "Yeah, you said it...,"

The two Slifers jumped down into the clearing, but didn't get a few feet in until a deep voice echoed through the air.

**"THOSE CARDS DO NOT BELONG TO ANY OF YOU!"**

Zane and Vahn looked up, followed by the others (except for Siho), and saw a large cargo-type helicopter approach the island. As it came closer, the rear of the copter opened up and a large, metal object was seen.

"What the heck is _that_ thing?" Jaden asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chazz rolled his eyes, "Yeah, ask me, like _I'm_ gonna know," he muttered sarcastically.

While the others looked on at the strange object, Siho approached the Legendary Demons, a smirk on his face as he reached for them.

"They're not the Egyptian Gods...but if they truly hold the power that they're supposed to have, then they're just as good," he whispered, a low chuckle escaping his throat, "I think I can make an excellent comeback with these...,"

A loud crashing sound and the earth shaking made 'Siho' look up, an angry look on his face, his hand still hovering near the cards. The metal object from the helicopter had fallen nearby, and now, something was emerging from it. It was a strange mechanical body, with four, curved legs on the corners, what looked like a huge battery on the back, and in the front...was a very large tube. Inside the tube, was a very, very old man, hooked up to wires, tubes and wearing an oxygen mask while his mane of white, scraggly hair floated around him.

**"Those cards belong to me!" **a loud, synthesized voice came from the tube...no doubt the voice of the old man filtered by the all the hardware.

'Siho' looked at him for a few moments, grinned and put down his hand, "Is that so? I beg to differ, old man," he hissed.

"That voice...it's Kagemaru, the School Superintendent!"

Jaden and the other kids snapped their heads, staring at Shephard, "WHAT?!"

**"I'm so glad you recognize me, Shephard...even though the years have _not_ been kind to me at all...,"** Kagemaru drawled from the safety of his tube haven.

Jaden looked at the bald Chancellor, "Superintendent?" he repeated.

**"I built this school!"** Kagemaru boomed, making Jaden and some of the others to look at him, **"Now, I've returned to claim my Legendary Demon cards!"**

'Siho' shook his head, "Fool...if you think _you _are the one to claim these mighty Demons for yourself, then you're dead wrong,"

"That's right!" Jaden yelled, interrupting the two of them, "If you want those cards...,"

Chazz folded his arms, "Then you gotta go through all of us to get them!" he finished, glaring at the elderly man.

**"Fools! I am Kagemaru, the Master of the Shadow Games! It was _I_ who first sealed the cards here, it was _I_ who gave Shephard the Seven Spirit Keys...although, they are worthless...,"** Kagemaru slowly moved his machine towards both the cards and Siho, **"All that's really required here is Dueling Energy. Energy that has been spent trying to protect those Keys,"**

Chazz 'hmphed' and turned away, "See? This isn't The Chazz's fault...," he muttered.

**"That is why I tried so hard for the best duelists in the world to attend this school,"** Kagemaru continued, stopping in front of Siho, **"I've hoped that year after year, class after class, that a student with enough dueling spirit energy would come and unlock the power of the cards. My Shadow Riders were sent to test you, and only one passed! One with the potential to unlock the Legendary Demons and give me the strength to rule the world!"**

'Siho' shook his head again, "Old fool...,"

Alexis scowled, "Cute story, Kagemaru," she spat at him, "What was with all the tricks? Too weak to get the cards yourself?"

"Alexis, don't make the scary man mad," Syrus whispered to her, eyes never leaving the Superintendent.

Chumley shrugged, "He doesn't look so bad. More like a mad scientist reject from a horror movie or somethin'," he commented.

"Listen up!" Zane stepped forward, "There's no way you're getting those cards! Hear me, Kagemaru?! As long as I'm here, you'll have to duel me to get them!"

"Hold up!" Chazz snapped, "It's my duel, so let's go, Kagemaru!" he held up his dueling arm.

"No way! This one's mine. After all, he and I...," Atticus glared at the old man, strumming his instrument, "...are old friends. He transformed me into one of his Shadow Riders!"

"Lemme fight him!" Jordan barked, cracking his knuckles, "That old fossil's goin' down!"

Bastion stepped forward forward, "I-,"

**"NO!"**

The poor Ra fell over.

Kagemaru let his eyes wander to one student in particular, **"My opponent will be Jaden Yuki...,"**

"Excuse me, what?" Jaden blinked, confused by what he had said.

**"You have proven to be the only duelist with the power to unlock the Legendary Demons...,"**

As if on cue to make a point, energy in the form of electrical sparks appeared and were soon coursing through each pillar, creating a circled perimeter around the students and teachers.

**"...and, if you refuse, I'll see to it that this island and everyone on it sinks to the bottom of the ocean deep!"**

Jaden's eyes widened, "You _can't_!"

Some of the mechanical parts of the tube carrier moved away, revealing more of Kagemaru's withered body, as well as two mechanical arms, one of which carried a duel disk.

**"You'll see that I can do _anything_ I want with these cards!"** Kagemaru snickered as his spare arm reached out and plucked the powerful cards from their protective holding.

"The Demons!" Jaden and Siho cried out, staring at what had just happened.

"Good luck now," Chazz muttered under his breath.

_So, this old geezer thinks **he's** the master of Shadow Games, and the master of the Demons? _'Siho' smirked a little bit, _I suppose I can let him live his little delusional train of thought for awhile..._

**"Now, let this Shadow Game begin!"**

'Siho' shook his head, stuffed his hands into his blazer pockets, turned around, and started to walk back to the group, an even look on his face.

"Listen, Jaden...," Chazz turned around and joined Siho on the walk back, "If you need any advice, don't ask,"

"Hey, where you goin' Chazz?"

"To find a boat," Chazz shot back before getting hit in the face with a knapsack, "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Sorry, Chazz," Christina apologized as Jaden grabbed the bag, "Thought Jaden could use a duel disk...,"

Chazz glared at her, then turned back to Jaden, "Don't lose, Jaden...I just got my room to look cool,"

"No sweat," Jaden winked at him then turned around, digging around in the knapsack, "I hope you brought your A-game, Kagemaru," he snapped as he pulled out his disk. As he pulled it out, he heard a loud thump and looked down.

It was the Tome that Banner had in their Shadow Game.

"Banner's magic Tome," he bent down and was going to pick it up, but noticed something sticking out. It was a Duel Monsters card. Jaden plucked it out and looked at it. The card had an image of a bright blue ball with what looked like a swirling casing.

"Banner must've wanted me to have this," he thought aloud, smiling a little bit, "Alright...I'll use it in my deck. What do I got to lose?" he shrugged, slipping the card in and shuffling his deck.

"Rock his world, Jaden!" Chumley yelled from behind him.

Jaden nodded and tossed the knapsack back to him, "You got it!" he shot back right before the sack hit Chazz on the back of the head, "Oops...sorry, Chazz!"

"That does it, I'm outta here!"

"But Chazz, I need you!"

"What you need is a swift kick in the-,"

**"SILENCE!"** Kagemaru roared, his tube scuttling back, **"This is why I hate teenagers...,"**

Jaden stepped up as the platform that once held the Demons disappeared under the earth again, "Alright, Kagemaru, bring it!" he challenged as both his and Kagemaru's duel disks turned on.

"Jaden, you can't lose this!" Chumley yelled, "If you do, this guy's gonna take over the world, and that's not a good thing!"

"Damn straight!" Kairi, Khamille and Christina cried in unison.

"I know guys...," Jaden waved at them, glaring at Kagemaru, "Time to get my game on!"

**K: 4000  
J: 4000**

**"Make your move, boy,"**

"Alrighty, here I go!" Jaden drew his card, "I'll summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in defense mode, and then I'll place a card facedown," he declared as his red-clad heroine appeared on the field, "Let's see if those Demons are all that!"

_That stupid Slifer Slacker was never too bright..._ 'Siho' thought, chuckling.

Christina heard the laugh and looked at him, a questioning look on her face. She was about to ask him something, when she noticed something was different about her friend. The normal look in Siho's eyes were gone, and was replaced with a glint of malice.

'Siho' glanced at her and smiled a little, "Something wrong, Chrissy?" he asked casually.

"Uh...no, no...nothing," Christina waved her hands quickly, grinning nervously, "Just on edge I guess. I hope Jaden wins this,"

"I know what ya mean," her friend looked back at the duel, "Every life on this island is hanging in the balance,"

**"You want to see how they do? Alright, let's find out," **Kagemaru drew his card, thanks to the mechanical arms, **"First, I will place three Trap cards facedown...**," he said, slipping three cards into his slots.

Chazz raised an eyebrow, "Three Trap cards? I think this old geezer's got his wires crossed or something...,"

"What do you mean?" Syrus asked him.

Bastion nodded in agreement, "Usually, when you place a card facedown, you don't say whether or not it's a Spell or a Trap card...,"

**"Unless you're trying to summon a Demon!"** Kagemaru butted in.

"Good! I've always wanted to see one up close," Jaden laughed.

**"You should be more careful of what you wish for!"** Kagemaru snickered as his three Traps were turned upward, **"I sacrifice my three Trap cards in order to summon Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (0/0)!!"**

Everyone watched as the three Trap cards shot up into the air and disappeared behind the tree line, in front of one of the pillars. As soon as they disappeared, a _huge_ stream of fire erupted high into the air.

"HOLY SHIT!" Christina yelped, staring at the fire.

"What's happening?!" Alexis cried, also staring.

Syrus pulled at his hair, looking extremely worried, "Something bad, that's for sure!"

An almighty roar ripped through the air as the flaming stream disappeared and in it's place, a gigantic, winged serpent-like creature hovered above the ground. It looked much like Slifer the Sky Dragon, only much darker. It had a huge wingspan, a large blue jewel in the center of it's forehead, and it seemed to have a second mouth, hidden in the first one!

Jaden looked up at the great monster, "...on second thought...maybe I _don't_ need to see one up close,"

"Boss! Help me, Boss!"

Chazz looked down at his cards to see Ojama Yellow in tears.

"Something's happening to us, Boss! That thing is doing something bad!"

"Suck it up," Chazz snapped, looking back at the duel as a strong wind picked up, "I'm sure you're fine...,"

**"Now, I activate his special ability. Trap Destruction!"**

Uria opened his mouth and an ear-splitting roar ripped through the air again. Jaden watched as the roar's schockwave destroyed his facedown card, which was Mirror Gate.

"Whoa...," Jaden breathed, looking back at the monster.

**"Traps are useless against my Demons, and they all destroyed. Also, if any of you are curious as to Uria's attack and defense points, for each Trap card in my Graveyard, Uria gains 1000 points!" **Kagemaru opened his eyes, smiling under his oxygen mask, **"At last count, there's three, so that gives him 3000 points!"**

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (3000/3000)

**"Now, Uria, turn Burstinatrix into slag! Hyper Blaze!"**

Uria opened his mouth again, but this time, a stream of extremely hot fire shot out from between his jaws and collided with Burstinatrix, burning her to a crisp.

Kagemaru chuckled at his monsters attack, **"Your turn, Jaden...,"**

"His turn to do _what_?" Zane scowled, "That monster's too powerful! What can Jaden do?"

"Whatever he can...," Christina glanced at her friends, and put her hands together as if in prayer, "We just gotta have faith in him,"

Jaden grit his teeth and looked from Kagemaru, to straight up at Uria, _This it. I've waited my whole life to duel the best, and here I am! That's the reason I came to this school, anyway. Now, I **am **facing down the best in a duel to take over the world! What more can a kid want!?_

"Let's do this!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!" he cried as his caped Hero appeared, "When I call him out alone on the field, I get to draw two more cards! Now...let's see what kind of cards we got...," the Slifer murmured, drawing his cards.

Atticus shook his head, "Not like it's gonna make any difference, dude...,"

"What's Jaden _thinking_?" Chazz scowled, "With Bubbleman out on the field, he's got no defense!"

"I can't watch this," Crowler whispered fearfully.

"Why not?" Zane crossed his arms, "After all, this duel may be the last thing we all see...,"

"C'mon, don't give up on him, yet, you guys!" Syrus pleaded.

Jaden looked at the cards in his hand, "Alright...I play Polymerization to fuse my Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) with my Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) and Bubbleman to create the Elemental Hero Tempest (2800/2800)!"

Kagemaru watched as Jaden's futuristic, blaster-wielding Hero appeared on the field, **"As strong as he is, he still doesn't have the points to destroy Uria...,"**

"Maybe not now, but that's why I got this to help level the playing field," Jaden grinned as he slid a card into his end tray, "I play the Field Spell card known as Skyscraper!"

Seconds later, tall buildings shot out of the earth and surrounded the duelists and their monsters. Uria now looked like something from a Godzilla movie, attacking a city.

"With this, my Hero gains a one-up on ya! If he has less attack points than your monster while this is out, he gains 1000 extra attack points!"

E-Hero Tempest (3800/2800)

"Tempest...," Jaden pointed upward at the Demon, "Show 'em whose boss!" he ordered.

Tempest lifted his arm blaster and fired a powerful burst of blue energy that struck Uria right in the face. The Demon roared in pain before exploding and sending a shockwave throughout the field, making Kagemaru's walking tube scuttle a little bit.

**K: 3200  
J: 4000**

"YEAH!" Jaden pumped his arm, "That's a hit!"

"He did it!" Syrus whooped.

Chumley grinned, "Yeah...but _I _would've gotten rid of it last round, Sy,"

**"Impressive. It seems I made the right choice as to make you my opponent, Jaden Yuki. You're dueling spirit will serve me well as I rip it from your body and use it to call upon the power of the Legendary Demon cards,"**

Jaden slipped a card into his disk as Kagemaru laughed coldly, "I kinda like where my dueling spirit is right now...let's see how you handle a facedown!"

Again, Kagemaru laughed, **"Let's see how _you _handle _this!_" **he drew his card, **"I activate Uria's special ability! By sending a lowly Trap card from my hand to the Graveyard...,"** he trailed off as a very familiar pillar of fire erupted behind him.

"Oh no!" Zane stared at the pillar.

"Don't tell me," Chazz gasped.

"It _can't_ be!" Bastion shook his head.

"Dude, he's in some deep shit," Jordan muttered, earning a glare from Alexis.

Once again, Uria burst forth from the pillar of fire and roared, shaking the windows of the holographic buildings around him.

**"As Lord of Searing Flames, one of Uria's abilities allows him to be resurrected from the flames, should I discard a Trap card to the Graveyard," **Kagemaru explained smugly.

"What's worse...," Zane grit his teeth, "With another Trap card in the Graveyard, Uria's power increase by another 1000 points!"

Alexis nodded, "If Jaden doesn't do something, _he'll_ be the one in the Graveyard!"

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (4000/4000)

**"Now, say goodbye to your feathered friend, Jaden!"**

Jaden covered his eyes from the flames of Uria's power as the Demon's fire engulfed his Fusion Hero.

**K: 3200  
J: 3800**

"Hold on!" he looked up, "I got tricks, too! By sending a card from the field," Jaden paused as his facedown card disappeared, "Tempest isn't destroyed!" he explained as his Hero came back to him.

"We'll follow up on that act with our next performer," Jaden drew his card, "I play Pot of Greed!" he drew two more cards, "Two cards for me, whole lotta pain for you, 'cuz I play H - Heated Heart! This Spell card gives Tempest 500 more attack points, which gives him just enough fire power to take out Uria one more time!"

Tempest (4300/2800)

The Elemental Hero flew into the air and blasted Uria once again with his almight burst stream of blue energy, destorying him.

**K: 2900  
J: 3800**

**"Waste of a turn, Jaden," **Kagemaru spat at him as he inserted a card in his Graveyard, **"As long as I have Traps to dispose of, Uria can never truly be destroyed!"**

For the third time, Uria climbed out of the pillar of fire, even stronger!

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (5000/5000)

Kagemaru drew his card, **"Now, I'll use _my_ Pot of Greed and draw two more cards,"** he cackled, drawing his new cards, then putting one into his end tray, **"Now, I'll use the Field Spell known as Fallen Paradise!"**

Jaden watched in silent dismay as his Skyscraper Field card disappeared, and with it, the power boost that it gave Tempest. The area now looked like a barren, rocky wasteland, the sky very dark and cloudy as mist crept along the ground.

E-Hero Tempest (2800/2800)

"Oh...not good," the Slifer muttered, looking around.

**"Not only is your Skyscraper obliterated, this new Field Spell card allows me to draw two additional cards every round!" **Kagemaru laughed harshly as he drew more cards, then inserting a few into his disk, **"Which gives me _just_ enough to place down three Spell cards facedown on the field...,"**

"Huh? _Three _Spells?" Jaden stared at the holo-cards laying in front of his opponent, "Aw great...,"

**"I see...despite your grades, you are a quick learner,"** Kagemaru nodded as the cards were revealed, **"I sacrifice my three Spell cards in order to summon the second Legendary Demon...Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000/4000)!!"**

The three Spell cards turned into large ice shards and flew backward, creating three seperate ice trails before coming together and creating a large ice block behind Kagemaru. With a devastating roar, a horrible new beast emerged from the ice, lighting crackling around it's body. Like Uria, it had a great pair of wings. This new Demon had a golden body, lengthy limbs that ended up in slightly curved feet and hands, his huge claws glinting in the light as his bony tail swayed from side to side.

"Look!" Atticus pointed at the new creature.

Chazz nodded slowly, "Yeah...we see it but...,"

"I don't believe it," Jordan fell to his knees, "My God...,"

Bastion cleared his throat loudly, "Uhm, yes, about that boat?"

**"Hamon, attack!" **Kagemaru ordered his new Demon, **"Let's show Tempest a _real_ storm!"**

Hamon lifted his mighty head to the sky and from his mouth, a bolt of blue lightning poured out into the clouds above. Soon, the whole sky was coursing with his power before it rained down onto Jaden's field.

"Tempest!" Jaden watched in horror as his Hero was destroyed, "NO!"

**K: 2900  
J: 2600**

**"That's not all, Jaden...," **Kagemaru smirked under his mask, **"Hamon has a little ability that activates whenever he destroys a monster. When this happens, you get dealt an extra 1000 points of direct damage! But don't worry, Jaden, it won't hurt..._me_!"**

Jaden screamed in pain as more lightning bolts collided with his body and his field.

**K: 2900  
J: 1600**

"JADEN!" Syrus screamed.

"Is he okay?!" Chumley shouted as Jaden fell to his knees.

"Please be okay, please be okay," Kairi whispered, hopping up and down.

"Boss...Boss...,"

Growling, Chazz looked at his monsters, ready to snap at them, but stopped at what he saw. Ojama Yellow looked _much_ thinner, as if he were very sick.

"Help us, Boss...all of us," Yellow whimpered with pleading eyes.

"What's...going on?" Chazz looked at the others, "Guys, check your decks, now!"

Everyone quickly took out their decks and were horrified to see that their monster cards didn't look so well either. All of them looked like they were in the same boat as Ojama Yellow.

'Siho' glanced at his cards, knowing that his were suffering the same fate. He looked up and saw both Hamon and Uria with a golden aura around their bodies.

Kagemaru listened to the panicked voices of Jaden's friends, **"Yes...you see, not only do the Legendary Demons absorb the dueling energy of the duelist, but they also absorb the dueling energy of all the cards!"**

Christina looked up and watched as dozens, if not hundreds of small, glowing orbs of light floated from everyone's decks and over to the two Demons.

"_That's_ why these cards were locked away!" Zane realized, "They have the power to destroy every card on the planet!"

"That's...impossible," Crowler shook his head in denial.

Chumley looked at his koala's, "Bummer...,"

"This can't be happening," Syrus whimpered as his Vehicroids began to rust.

"Hold on!" Bastion nodded to the duel, "Jaden's the only one not effected by it!"

**"That's because Jaden's dueling spirit is beyond _all_ of yours! Time and time again, he has proven that he has the heart and the courage to win, no matter _what _the odds! It is this force alone that can tame the Legendary Demons and harness their awesome power!"**

"So _that's_ why you wanted me," Jaden spat, glaring daggers at him.

**"Yes! When this Shadow Game is over, and you lay defeated, I will take your dueling spirit! Finally, I will have the power and become the new Master of the great Legendary Demons! They will absorb the strength of every card, deck, and duelist around the globe and allow me to become absolute ruler of the world! Allow me to demonstrate a mere fraction of their power...,"**

The tube that held Kagemaru was soon completely filled with many bubbles and a glowing, yellow light that shined in every direction.

**"Yes...that's it...rejuvenate me!!!"**

All of a sudden, the glass on the giant tube broke in many pieces and all the water gushed out through the cracks and holes. Everyone watched as a strong, healthy-looking arm reached out of the hole closest to the duel disk and pulled it off the mechanical arm.

"This...is some messed up _shit_, right here," Khamille gasped as Kagemaru, who now looked like a young, healthy, body-builder leapt out of the test tube, duel disk on his arm, a mane of unruly black hair flowing behind him, and (thankfully) a large bandage around his upper thigh/lower stomach region.

"He's been reborn!" Shephard gaped at the superintendents new body.

"I doubt it," Jaden muttered, eyes never leaving his enemy, "It's all for show!"

Kagemaru cracked his neck, then turned to his old 'home' of a tube, reaching down and grabbing the bottom, "Is _this_ a show?!" he roared, picking up and throwing the mechnical medical aid machine high into the air and far away.

The new man looked at his work and grinned slightly, "I like this new body...but something's still missing. Oh, that's right...," he snapped his head around and looked wickedly at Jaden, "It's your soul, Jaden! NOW, LET'S FINISH THIS DUEL!" he cried, holding up his duel disk.

Jaden could only glare back while two of the three Legendary Demons filled the sky above him. His friends watched on, helpless to do anything to help him out at all.

However, there was only one person who didn't look worried as he watched the duel. In fact, he looked impressed.

_My my my...how things have changed since my last stay _the Dark Man thought gleefully,_ These counterparts to the ancient God cards really do have an incredible amount of strength...all I have to do is make my move when these two finish each other off...then I'll show these fools who the true master of the Shadow Games is!_

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Man, this is NOT looking good! Facing down two Demons with less attack points than his opponent? Jaden needs a miracle now! Let's hope he gets it...**


	72. The Demons Awaken Part Two

**The Demons Awaken Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**_Last time, on GX: Heroes...Kagemaru, the old Superintendent of Duel Academy 'dropped' in just after the Seven Spirit Gates were unlocked. It was there that he had explained the whole purpose of the Legendary Demons and the Seven Shadow Riders. Now, Jaden faces two of the three Demons, with less Life Points than the newly rejuvenated Kagemaru. Does he stand a chance? Can he save the world from domination? Can he save duelists and duel spirits everywhere from being absorbed by the Demons?!_**

**_LET'S FIND OUT!_**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_Starin' down two Legendary Demons without **one** monster on my field...**not** good_ Jaden thought as he looked up at the monsters, taking in the situation of the duel.

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000/4000)  
Uria, Lord of Searing Flame (5000/5000)

**K: 2900  
J: 1600**

"Daunting, isn't it?" Kagemaru asked, noticing Jaden's stare, "Don't worry, it'll all be over soon...when my Demons defeat you, Jaden,"

"We'll see...my turn now," Jaden drew his card, "...and I summon a duelist's best friend: Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in defense mode!" he declared as a mech-dog appeared in front of him, "Good boy, just heel for now," he said, slipping a card into his disk, "I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn,"

"A facedown and a duel doggy? _That's _how you plan on beating me? _That's_ how you plan on stopping my Demons? Please, don't insult them," Kagemaru waved his arm at his monsters, "After all, it'll be _these_ monsters that'll empower me to rule the world!"

Jaden glared hatefully at the man as he said those words.

"Now, where were we?!" Kagemaru drew his card, "Oh yes! By the effect of my Field Spell, Fallen Paradise, I'm allowed to draw two more cards from my deck to my hand," he drew again, "Now, I'll wage an attack with Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" hepointed at Jaden's metal dog, "Go, Cerulean Sky Fire!"

Jaden watched as Hamon created another bolt storm that rained down and destroyed his Wroughtweiler effortlessly.

"Now, I'll activate Hamon's effect!" Kagemaru smiled, "Remember, Jaden? When he destroys a monster, he deals you an extra 1000 points of damage to you!"

A huge, blue bolt of lighting shot down from the sky and hit Jaden dead on. The Slifer screamed as an explosion sent him flying backward.

**K: 2900  
J: 600**

"Nice special effect," Jaden gasped, rising to his feet, "I got one, too...my Wroughtweiler's! When he's destroyed in battle, I get to take back an Elemental Hero and Polymerization from my deck to my hand," he reached down and plucked two cards from his glowing Graveyard, "and the Hero I've picked is Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Kagemaru laughed at the move, "Too bad you will never have the chance to summon him!" he taunted.

"We'll see about that," Jaden shot back, "Now finish your turn!"

"Fine fine...but it's not just the turn that I'm about to finish," he pointed to Jaden, "Uria! Attack with Hyper Blaze!" he screamed.

Uria reared back his head, then fired off another powerful burst of flames straight at the young Slifer.

"It's all over!" Shephard cried, watching the fireball fly through the air.

"We're done for!" Bastion moaned.

"Jaden, no!" Syrus yelled out for his friend.

Jaden smiled, just a little, as the fireball closed in, "Not so fast, Kagemaru! I play my facedown! Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! This card allows me to Special Summon Winged Kuriboh (300/200) from my deck, in defense mode!" he explained quickly as his winged furball appeared on the field...seconds before it was engulfed by the fiery blaze of Uria's.

Kagemaru frowned, "Pure luck...,"

"No, _that's_ pure Kuriboh!" Jaden shot back.

A soft hooting sound made him look to the right to see Winged Kuriboh pointing at something. Following his claw, Jaden looked down and watched as a card popped out of the top of his deck, glowing for a few seconds.

"Huh? What's this?" he drew his card and stared, "It's Banner's card! The one that was in that book of his!" he looked at the card for a little bit, then looked back up at Kagemaru, "I have the feeling that he wanted me to have it so that I could use it to beat you!"

"You give him too much credit! He was a dullard, a pawn that I used...just like you, Jaden!"

"You _wish_!"

"It's true, Jaden! Your soul? Once I win it, my reign is assured!"

"Well, then I'll make sure you won't win it!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!"

Once again, Jaden's blue Hero came to the field, arms folded.

"I activate his effect! When he's alone on the field when I summon him, I get to draw two more cards!" he drew said cards, "Now, I'll play one of them! The Spell card Metamorphosis! Now, I can sacrifice my Bubbleman to summon up a Fusion monster that's the same level as he is. So say 'hello' to Elemental Hero Neo Bubbleman (800/1200)!"

Jaden's caped Hero was soon transformed into the modified version of himself, his new fins jutting out of his back and limbs.

Kagemaru scoffed, "You just sacrificed one weakling for another...,"

"Oh yeah? Well, in that case, I guess it's a good thing I have _this!_" Jaden slipped a card into his disk and a large bazooka with a water tank appeared on Bubbleman's shoulder, "The Equip Spell card Bubble Blaster!"

E-Hero Neo Bubbleman (1600/1200)

"Now, Neo Bubbleman, attack with Bubble Slamming Stream!"

Bubbleman launched a huge blast of high-pressured water straight at Kagemaru's monsters. The Superintendent chuckled at the move.

"You think that little bubble's going to make a difference? Hamon, counterattack!" he ordered.

Hamon roared and launched a massive amount of yellow, flaming energy back. The energy wave, and the Bubble Stream met each other head on, but strangely enough, Hamon's energy blast was pushed back by the Stream and seconds later, Hamon blew up in such a large explosion, a strong shockwave ripped through the area.

"WHAT?!" Kagemaru stared in shock, "Hamon's been destroyed!"

"That's because of Neo Bubbleman's special ability!" Jaden explained, When he fights a monster, it's automatically destroyed!"

"But...Hamon was _stronger_!" Kagemaru protested angrily, "So you should still take damage!"

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda," Jaden shook his head, "Sorry, but by destroying Bubble Blaster, any and all damage you would've dealt to me becomes zero!" he explained as his Equip Spell blew apart, lowering his Hero's strength.

E-Hero Neo Bubbleman (800/1200)

"Nice move," Shephard said with a slow nod.

"Yeah, that's what I woulda done," Chumley agreed.

"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus cheered.

"AWESOME!" Christina spun around and launched herself onto the nearest person...which was Bastion.

"Christina!" the startled Ra tried to push her off, "Please, get off me, this isn't the best time for a victory hug!"

The Dark Man, who was still in control of Siho's body, rubbed his chin in thought, _Interesting...there's definitely something about this kid that intrigues me. Perhaps I should change my plans a little..._

"Next, I place a card facedown, and end my turn," Jaden finished, slipping a card into his disk.

"Your last turn," Kagemaru growled as he drew his card, "Remember, because of Fallen Paradise, I get to draw two extra cards!" he drew two more cards, "Now, Uria, finish him off with Hyper Blaze!"

Jaden watched as Uria fired off another blast of fire, heading straight for his monster, "Time to do your thing!" he pressed a button on his disk, "Bubble Illusion! When Bubbleman's on the field, this card allows me to play a Trap card from my hand," he looked at his hand and plucked one of the three cards left, "I play this one...Hero's Rule 1: Five Freedoms! Five Trap cards now leave the Graveyard!"

"They _what?!_"

"That's right! They're removed from play!" Jaden grinned, "So say your goodbyes!"

Bastion nodded, "Of course! What a brilliant move! With those Trap cards gone...," he paused and tried to shake Christina off, but was unable to, "...with those Traps gone, Uria's attack strength goes down dramatically!" he finished, sighing in defeat.

"A thousand per Trap card...," Chazz grinned smugly, "Which means with those Traps gone, Uria's attack will be-,"

"Zero, nothing, a big fat goose egg!" Crowler finished, smacking an open palm with a fist.

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (0/0)

"Alright, now Neo Bubbleman's got the edge in this fight!" Jaden pumped his fist as Uria's flame died down, "Let him have it!"

Kagemaru watched in horror as, once again, Uria was obliterated from the field, thanks to Bubbleman's Bubble attack. The exploding Demon sent another shockwave through the area, making most of the people in the area cover their faces protectively.

"You're only postponing the inevitable...," the madman growled, taking a card from his hand, "You cannot stop the Demons! Especially with _this_...I play Resurrection Tribute! Now, since my monster was destroyed, I get to destroy one of yours...meaning that Bubbleman will now burst!"

Jaden watched as Bubbleman blew up in dozens of digitized pieces, "Aw man...,"

"But that's not all, Jaden, I get to summon back a monster from my Graveyard to my field in defense! So, rise again, Hamon!" Kagemaru roared as lightning bolts crashed behind him, giving his fallen creature life once more, "Next, I'll activate Uria's special effect. By discarding one Trap card to the Graveyard, I can summon him back!"

Kagemaru slipped one card into his Graveyard slot and once again, Uria was reborn in a pillar of fire.

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (1000/1000) DEF  
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000/4000) DEF

"Aw great," Jaden muttered, looking at the newly resurrected Demons.

"And now, I'll activate the Spell known as Phantasmal Martyrs!" Kagemaru held up a new card, one that had both Hamon and Uria on it, but also...a strange, horrific blue monster, "When Uria and Hamon are out, I can send two cards from my hand to the Graveyard, and then I can summon three Phantasmal Martyr Tokens (0/0)!"

He slipped two cards into his Graveyard and seconds later, three monsters appeared on his field, looking like a cross between a mutant bat and a Hollow from Bleach.

"Since he sent Divine Wrath, a Trap card to the Graveyard, Uria gains another 1000 attack points!" Bastion shook his head slowly.

Christina looked at him, still holding onto him, "How'd you see the Trap? I didn't...,"

"That's because I paid attention to the duel...,"

Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000/4000)  
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (2000/2000)

"Just like that, my two Demons are back," Kagemaru grinned wickedly, "It's like you're just back where you started...but you're _not_, because I'm sacrificing the three Phantasmal Tokens in order to summon the third and final Legendary Demon! So you see," his grin widened as thick bolts of lightning boomed above them, "Things are _much, much_ worse!"

Suddenly, the whole field was engulfed in a bright blue light. Everyone covered their eyes from the glaring light as a very strong wind picked up around them. Kagemaru laughed triumphantly as the ground behind him exploded, sending huge chunks into the air.

"ARISE...RAVIEL, LORD OF PHANTASMS (4000/4000)!!!"

Jaden looked up as the light died down and stared at the final demon. Raviel looked like a very dark and twisted version of Obelisk the Tormentor.

"Okay...definitely _not_ friendly," he murmured.

"Not good," Zane scowled, "He's gathered all three of them out at once!"

Vahn nodded, "We're screwed, ain't we, Kaiser?"

Zane turned and stared at Vahn, "You're still here?"

"Yeah...I just keep to myself mostly, so people forget I'm here...,"

Once again, the Demons began to glow a bright golden aura as hundreds of small, glowing orbs flew through the sky towards them. Jaden looked around, staring at the orbs, "Oh no!"

-----

"Hey, the cards!"

Two small boys in a game shop stared through the display case and watched as the Duel Monsters cards slowly lost their images, golden orbs floating away unseen.

"They're gone!"

Both boys started to cry as an elderly, short man in overalls walked up behind them, gazing at the cards as well.

**(Author's Note: Yeah, guess who THAT is)**

-----

Jagger and Slade watched, stunned as their prized, rare cards suffered the same fate as they sat in the large briefcase.

"Our cards!"

"They're vanishing!"

-----

Chazz whipped out his deck and looked down in horror, "OJAMA YELLOW!"

The small, annoying duel spirit's image on it's card slowly decayed away, leaving only a bony skeleton on the card.

Kagemaru held out his arms as he began to glow a faint blue light, "Yes...come to me...come to me...COME TO ME!!!"

Jaden stared at his opponent's glowing body, "..._that's_ freaky,"

"Oh no," Shephard soon realized what was going on, "It's as if Kagemaru's absorbing the Duel Monsters and using their energies!"

Crowler scratched his head, "That's not in the rules...,"

Kagemaru looked straight at Jaden, "The Spirits sense your defeat, Jaden...they're surrendering themselves to me, yielding to me their might so that I can unleash the three Legendary Demons with a new life that shall be eternal!"

"So, if Jaden loses this...," Chazz started slowly.

"Then all of the Duel Spirits will be sucked up!" Zane finished, "Not good,"

Christina hid her face behind Bastion's head, "Creepy...creepy...creepy," she turned and looked at Siho. He still had that look of malice in his eyes...but that wasn't all that she saw. She could swear that she could see another figure nearby, laying on the ground, a purple cape draped over it's skeleton. She rubbed her eyes and took a second look. The thing was gone!

_I need to cut back on watching these Shadow Games stuff...I'm starting to see things!_

"Sorry, Kagemaru, but there's no way I'll ever let you do that to my friends!" Jaden swore.

"Duel Spirits aren't meant to be your friends, they exist so you can get what you want!" Kagemaru snapped at the Slifer, "Now, I'm going to use them Jaden, to destroy you!"

Jaden remained silent, staring up at the trio of Demons.

"Time to step up!" he drew his card, "I play the Spell card Dark Factory of Mass Production! Now, I can take two monsters from my Graveyard and add them to my hand!" he looked down as two familiar monsters popped out, "The ones I'm pickin' are Burstinatrix (1200/800) and Avian (1000/1000)!" he held up a familiar Spell, "Next up is the Spell card Polymerization! I'll fuse both Avian and Burstinatrix together to create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

Jaden's trademark monster in his Elemental Hero deck appeared on the field, dragon-head arm smoking and wings flapping as he descended to the ground.

Kagemaru grinned, "Now, Raviel's special ability activates! Whenever you summon a monster to the field, I get to summon a Demon Token (1000/1000)!" he explained as a smaller version of Raviel appeared on the field.

_Hmmm...with Flame Wingman on the field, I can take out Uria this turn but,_ Jaden looked at Hamon and Raviel, _Those other two would take me out **next** turn! Man..._

"_Jaden...Jaden..._," a mysterious voice called out.

"Huh?" the Slifer turned around and scanned the area, "Who's there?"

Jaden watched as a large yellow orb of light phased through some kind of veil, and hovered towards him, Pharaoh leaping and mewing at it, trying to hit it with his paw.

"_Not now, Pharaoh!_" the orb scolded.

"...Professor Banner?" Jaden asked slowly, staring at the terrorized orb, "Is that you?"

"_Yes_," Banner 'wandered' over to Jaden, "_My boy, you **must** use that card now!_" he urged.

Jaden looked at the single card in his hand, "But...use it how?"

"_That is up to you to decide. You see, it is only as good as it's owner. It will grant you three card covets, meaning that it will turn into any card that you want it to be three times! Then, after the third covet, it's **true** power will be revealed, and if you've played your cards right, it will-_,"

Banner never finished because Pharaoh leapt up and swallowed the orb, then dashed away, jumping through the veil again.

Jaden looked back at the card, _So...I just think of a card that I need? Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try_ he thought as he closed his eyes.

As Jaden stood there, the card glowed a bright light and the image changed to something completely different. Jaden opened his eyes and grinned, even though his Life Points were cut in half, _It's the exact card I wanted! Thanks, Banner..._

**K: 2100  
J: 300**

"Alright, I'm playing the Spell card Fusion Recovery!" Jaden held up the new card.

Chazz raised an eyebrow, "So what? That won't change a thing!"

"It could!" Alexis breathed, "If he can just play it right...,"

"This card lets me take a Fusion-material monster and a Polymerization from my Graveyard and add them to my hand," he reached down and picked up the two cards, "So I get the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) but he won't be staying around for long, because with Polymerization, I'm fusing him and Flame Wingman to create the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100)!"

From the sky, Jaden's brightly glowing Hero descended onto the field, looking like an angel sent from Heaven to do battle with the Demons, his shining armor getting brighter with each second.

"Then _I_ get another Token," Kagemaru reminded him as a second Raviel look-alike came to the field.

Jaden nodded, "Cool, because I get something too! 300 attack points for Flare Wingman for _every_ Hero in my Graveyard," he looked down at his disk, "...and at the moment, I have seven!"

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (2000/2000)  
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (4000/4000)  
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (4000/4000)  
Demon Token 1 (1000/1000)  
Demon Token 2 (1000/1000)

E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman (4600/2100)

"That can't be!" Kagemaru stared at the power boost, "4600 points?!"

"That's right, _and_ he has a special ability! See, when Flare Wingman destroys a monster in battle, _you_ take damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points!"

"Wait...so...,"

"_So..._go and get him Flare Wingman!" Jaden ordered, "Shining Emerald Orb!"

Shining Flare Wingman leapt high into the air and flew in front of Hamon. He brought his hands together and soon, a gigantic ball of bright green energy formed between his palms. With a grunt, Flare Wingman fired off the ball of green energy and everyone watched as Hamon was struck by the ball, causing him to explode and fall to the ground in the form of many pieces.

"Now, Flare Wingman! Light up Kagemaru with your special ability!"

Kagemaru looked away from his ruined monster just in time to see Flare Wingman appear right in front of him. The Hero with such intensity, the other half of the field was obscured by the bright light. However, the spectators didn't need to see what was going on...they _knew_ that Jaden had just won! That is, until...

The light died down and everyone could see that Kagemaru was still standing, smiling widely as the bits and pieces of Hamon's body hovered between him and Flare Wingman.

"A good try, but when Hamon is destroyed while in defense mode, all damage I might recieve this turn becomes zero!" he explained with a cold laugh.

Jaden grit his teeth and looked down at his strange card, _Alright...this is my second card covet. Hope it works _he thought as the card morphed again, his Life Points being cut in half again.

**K: 2100  
J: 150**

"I'll place a card facedown and end my turn," Jaden finished, slipping the new card into his disk.

"And I'll begin _mine_. First, thanks to the effect of Fallen Paradise, I add two extra cards from my deck to my hand," Kagemaru drew his extra cards, "Next, I'll switch Uria from defense mode to attack mode, and then I'll play Raviel's effect! By sacrificing monsters on my field, I can add their attack points to Raviel's!"

Everyone watched as the two Demon Tokens disappeared and Raviel glowed with the new power given to him by the sacrificed monsters.

Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (2000/2000)  
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms (6000/4000)

"So _that's _why he sacrificed those Tokens!" Bastion spat, "To power-up Raviel, and to power-down Jaden!"

"NO!" Christina began to beat Bastion over the head, shaking her head rapidly, "CHEATER, CHEATER, CHEATER, CHEATER!!"

"GO, RAVIEL!" Kagemaru ordered, "CLEAN YOUR CLAWS ON THAT SHINING FLARE WINGMAN!"

Raviel roared and pulled back his arm, the claws on his right hand glowing brightly.

"I play my facedown!" Jaden shouted, "A facedown that happens to be the second card I wished for! De-Fusion!"

Raviel continued his attack, but thankfully, Shining Flare Wingman split into Flame Wingman and Sparkman, both of them jumping away from the oncoming claw. The two Heroes knelt down in defense as Raviel moved back, his attack failing.

"Very well, but De-Fusion counts as _two_ summonings, so I get two Tokens!" Kagemaru pointed out as two Raviel look-alikes appeared in front of him, "Now, Raviel, go and destroy the Elemental Heroes Flame Wingman with Shimmering Scraper!"

Raviel attack with his glowing claws again, but this time, Jaden could do nothing as his headlining monster was destroyed...thankfully, he was in defense mode!

"And now, Uria will finish off the other one with Hyper Blaze!"

Jaden held up his arm as the blast from Uria's attack blew past him, his Sparkman being wiped off the field.

"Oh yeah?! My turn!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon the Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in attack mode!"

Kagemaru scoffed, "That means another Demon Token for me...," he said as a third Token appeared on his field.

Jaden looked down at the now glowing card in his hand, _Alright, my last card covet!_

**K: 2100  
J: 75**

"I play Miracle Fusion!" Jaden held up the newly morphed Spell card, "With this, I can take monsters from my Field, hand, and Graveyard to combine them and create a Fusion monster! So, I'll use the Clayman on the my field, and the Bubbleman, Avian, and Burstinatrix in my Graveyard, and fuse them to create the Elemental Hero Electrum (2900/2600)!"

The four Heroes appeared and swirled together until the golden-skinned Hero with the E on his chest appeared, rays of multi-colored light shining off of his body.

_Alright, the third card covet's been used. Time to see what this thing's true power is...and to see if I've played my cards right..._ Jaden looked up at Kagemaru as the card began to glow again, "Now, I'll play the Spell card called Sabatiel the Philosopher's Stone! It says here, that if it's equipped onto Electrum, his attack points are multiplied by the number of monsters that you have on your field...and I count five!"

A gigantic, two bladed sword appeared in Electrum's hands, looking like a strange version of Cloud Strife's sword. But, despite it's bulky appearance, it gave Electrum a _huge_ boost of power!

E-Hero Electrum (14500/2600)

Kagemaru's eyes widened at the power-up, "14,500 attack points?!"

"It's _over_, Kagemaru! Now, Hero Electrum, seal his fate!" Jaden ordered his all-powerful monster.

Electrum leapt into the air, his new weapon spinning in his hands. As soon as he reached Raviel's height, he held up his sword and brought it down hard, slicing through Raviel's body like a hot knife through butter, creating a thick, glowing line in Raviel's body as he did so.

Kagemaru watched in stunned horror as Raviel was obliterated from the field, creating an explosion that rocked the island and sending a gigantic plume of smoke into the air.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" he screamed, falling to his knees as Uria began to glow gold again, "THE LEGENDARY DEMONS CAN'T BE DEFEATED!"

The remaining Demon roared before disappearing from sight. The sky returned to it's normal blue color and the spectators cheered at Jaden's victory. However, Jaden was the only one who wasn't celebrating fully yet. He was looking at Kagemaru, who was glowing a blue light as the hundreds of yellow orbs from before flew out of his body and back into the air.

-----

Back in a certain card shop, the two boys who were devastated at the cards disappearing, were now watching them return to their normal selves.

"They're back!"

-----

"Hey look, they've come back!"

Slade and Jagger watched as their rare and powerful cards came back to normal as well.

"Too bad we can't dock them pay for time missed,"

-----

Chazz watched as Ojama Yellow's skeleton was soon covered by it's yellow flesh, followed by the normal, yet annoying soul of his Duel Spirit coming around.

"You're back!"

Ojama Yellow popped out of his card and hopped onto Chazz's shoulder, "Aw, you'll never get rid of me, Boss!"

Jaden looke down at Sabatiel, which was still glowing, "Wow...what a card...," he breathed, watching the card disappear into a group of tiny lights, Banner's quiet laughter filling his ears, "I'll never forget you, Professor Banner," he whispered.

Looking up, he saw something strange happen to Kagemaru. The Superintendent of Duel Academy screamed at the top of his lungs as a bright blue light forth from his body into the air, his hair become more and more gray, his body more and more shriveled.

"Dude...," Kairi's jaw dropped.

Khamille nodded in silent agreement, shocked at what they were seeing, "Messed up...,"

Jaden ran over to Kagemaru, "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Kagemaru slowly turned his old, shriveled head to Jaden, "I'm sorry, Jaden. All I ever wanted was what every old person wants in life. To be young again...and harnessing the power of the Legendary Demons was the only way I found to do that...,"

"Yeah, and to take over the world," Jaden added harshly.

Kagemaru reached up and grabbed Jaden's arm, "Can't you forgive a decrepit old fool? His delusions of grandeur?"

Jaden looked down at Kagemaru, and despite everything that had happened. The Shadow Riders, the Spirit Keys, Banner...there was no way he could hate an old man who just wanted to relive his youth.

"Yeah, but don't you see old-timer?" Jaden knelt down a little, "Stealing power from something or someone isn't the way to feel alive again. You got to find that in yourself!"

"I can't!" Kagemaru wheezed, "It's too late for me!"

"It's never too late," Jaden rose to his feet, Kagemaru still holding onto him, "C'mon, try and get up! Right now, go for it, and give it your all!"

Kagemaru nodded and slowly began to rise, staggering here and there. Finally, he let go of Jaden and stumbled around, but managed to stay on his feet. He looked down and smiled, "H-hey...look! I'm standing!" he looked at Jaden, "It must've been our duel! Yes, that makes perfect sense! THANK YOU, JADEN!"

Jaden grinned and hugged the old man tightly, "No problem!"

Unfortunately, Jaden must've hugged too hard because a loud snap was heard and Kagemaru yelped in pain.

"Oops...sorry,"

-----

A short while later, everyone watched as Kagemaru was air-lifted away in a cot attached to a copter thanks to a safety line.

Jaden rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly, "I guess bear hugs and old people just don't mix...,"

Atticus chuckled and slapped Jaden on the shoulder, "You may have broken a few ribs, but I bet ya that his heart is all healed up!"

Christina glanced at the Obelisk, "I swear to God, some of the stuff you say reminds me of my mother...,"

Growling, Chazz crossed his arms, "A few broken ribs? He's lucky that's _all _he got...after all he put us through?"

Jaden laughed and waved as the chopper took off, "Bye, Kagemaru!"

"Get well soon!" Syrus called out, waving, "...I guess...,"

Shephard watched as the chopper took off, then looked at the three Demon cards that he held in his hand, "It's all over," he sighed in relief, walking back to the spot where the Demon's holding box appeared again, "...and it's going to stay over! The Legendary Demons will be under my guard and my guard alone!"

As soon as he placed the three cards in the container, the box closed up and disappeared under the earth. The giant stone pillars around them soon slid back into the earth as well, the island now back to normal.

"Looks like things are finally gonna calm down around here," Syrus sighed in relief.

Crowler chuckled, "I wouldn't say that," he glanced at his students, "You see...next week are the Duel Academy's promotion exams,"

Jaden snapped his head towards the head of Obelisk Blue, a look of sheer terror on his face, "Promotion exams?! I completely forgot!!!"

Chazz shook his head as Jaden curled into a ball of despair, "Pathetic...,"

Atticus laughed as he strummed his ukelele, "Savin' the world is one thing, but makin' the grade?"

"Not exactly Jaden's cup of tea," Bastion chuckled as Christina finally let go of him.

Alexis nodded, "That's true!"

Jordan looked at Kairi and Khamille, "Well...after all this crazy shit, some test shouldn't be that hard right?"

"JORDY!" Alexis whapped him over the head, "No swearing!"

"OW! Lexi!"

"Ease up on him, Lexi, he's a guy, let him curse if he wants!"

"You want to share his pain, Atty?"

Christina rolled her eyes and looked around for Siho. She found him looking up at the sky, hands in his pockets. She walked slowly over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, Siho?"

Her best friend turned around and Christina could tell that the look of malice that once filled his eyes was no longer there.

"Sup Chrissy?"

She shook her head, smiling a bit, "Nothing, just wanted to tell ya that the Exams are next week in case ya didn't hear Crowler," she said quietly.

"Oh? Cool...you think we have a shot?" he asked, looking back at the group.

_Maybe I just imagined all of that stuff..._ Christina thought, staring at her friend, _No way Siho would have that kinda look. Not my best friend. I've known Siho all my life, and no matter how mad he gets, or what he does, he'd never do anything that bad._

"Yo, Earth to Chrissy!"

Christina snapped out of her train of thought and turned to see Kairi waving over to her.

"C'mon! Victory Party at the Slifer Dorm!"

A large smile crossed Christina's face and she dashed over, "WOOT!"

Siho watched her run and grinned, "Baka...," he muttered, turning to where the container of the Legendary Demons disappeared underground.

_The cards are safe again...but now that **he** knows how they work, and how to bring them out, is this place really safe, anymore? _he thought, staring at the ground, _If he pulls anything, or takes over, will I ever be able to fight him?_

As Siho stood there pondering, Vahn pulled out a cell phone and began to walk down the path back to the school.

"Vynix, it's Gale. The situation is under control for now...but we shouldn't let down our guard. I got a bad feeling in my gut,"

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: WOOT! THE FINAL SHADOW DUEL OF THIS STORY IS OVER! I FEEL SO HAPPY! With the Shadow Riders all defeated, can the gang survive the promotion exams that Crowler mentioned? LET'S HOPE SO!**


	73. Coming of Age

**Coming of Age**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Aw man, I'm _never_ gonna pass the Promotion Exam...I get test anxiety!"

Syrus grinned at Jaden's attitude, moving his stylis pen across his portable dueling terminal, "Watch this, Jay...I'll take out your Clayman (800/2000) with my Drilloid (1600/1600). You're wide open now, Jaden!"

His best friend panicked and ran his pen across his own terminal, "Wait a second...!"

"And with _this_ card...," Syrus' smile became wider as he threw his hands up in the air, "I win!!"

Jaden groaned, letting his head fall in defeat, "I really gotta learn to stay calm during these tests...,"

"You should learn to be more chill, like Chumley," Syrus suggested, packing up his terminal.

"Speakin' of which...," Jaden looked up at the top bunk, where Chumley lay quietly, his back to them, "Doesn't he seem a little _too_ chill?"

"Aw, he's fine," Syrus looked up at Chumley's bed, "He was up all night last night, poor guy,"

"All night?" Jaden repeated, not sure if he had heard right, "That sounds like a lot of studying...even for _Chumley_,"

"Jaden!"

"What?"

Syrus leaned in, "Chumley's already failed his exams twice already. If he fails _this_ time, they're gonna kick him out for good!"

Jaden's eyes widened, "Wow...that must be rough...,"

As the two of them talked quietly about the tests, Chumley gave a silent sigh and pulled his blanket closer to him.

_Yeah...but with my luck, and my dueling skills, that's **exactly** what's gonna happen!_ he thought miserably.

"So, how are the others studying, Sy?"

"Well, I heard Siho's doing a study crash session with Chrissy, Khamille and Kairi...but whenever I go by their door, I swear I can hear them goofin' off,"

Jaden shrugged, "Hey, you said yourself, Sy ol' buddy...just gotta learn how to chill,"

-----

Later that day in class, Jaden and the whole gang, as well as the entire class, spent their time using water colors to draw and paint their own, original ideas for Duel Monster cards. Well, some of them did anyway. A few here and there drew their favorite monsters.

Like Syrus for example. As soon as he was done, he ripped the page out and held it up to show to Jaden his Dark Magician Valkyeria, "Waddya think? Is it good?"

Jaden glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, then continued painting his own, "Not bad, Sy, but check this out...,"

Syrus leaned in and facefaulted at Jaden's strange, crudely drawn monster, "Uh...,"

"It's a work of art, it's genius, it's...," Jaden dropped his brush, "Sparkman! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Um...if you say so, Jay,"

Christina crumbled her work into a paper ball and slumped back, "Man, art was never my strong suit. Must've gotten that from my dad, too. He can draw a rough drawing of Samus Aran, but not _one_ of us can actually draw realistic looking people!"

"Be glad for that...,"

"Huh?" she turned to Siho, who looked very busy with his drawing, "Watcha mean?"

Siho placed his brush down and cracked his knuckle, "Look...," he nodded to his own work.

Christina leaned over and stared at the paper, "Holy..._nice_,"

In the picture, was a muscular man wearing a dark and twisted purple mask that looked like it was made out of bone or something. The man didn't wear a shirt, but he had strange bone-like curves coming out of his shoulders, and it was either a blood red cape or a pair of strange wings that sprouted from his back. The man held either a golden club, or some kind of golden ornate decoration in front of his chest. If that didn't make the man intimidating enough, a thick, bright green mist surrounded his lower body.

"Dude, what is that?"

Siho shook his head, "I dunno...but I've seen it in my dreams...,"

Before Christina could ask him any more, Jaden's voice cut her off. The two Slifers turned to see him and Syrus staring at Chumley's picture. They had a right to: it was a gorgeous picture with a giant stone, surrounded by grasslands at the bottom while a beautiful blue sky rested above it.

"Cool...," Jaden tilted his head, "What is it?" he asked.

"_What is it_?!" Syrus, Christina and Siho leaned in, staring at him, "You've never heard of Ayer's Rock?!"

Christina grinned and looked at Siho, "Dude, that was weird...,"

Jaden gulped and pulled back a little, "Uh..._no_?"

Chumley smiled and stood up, his holding his sketchpad, "Ya see, a long time ago, I went camping with my dad in Australia, and we saw it...it was amazing!"

More and more nearby students noticed the Slifers talking and decided to lean in and see what all the fuss was about.

"Whoa, nice brushstrokes," a Ra Yellow commented.

"Cool texture," a fellow Slifer praised.

"WOW!" Kairi pushed Khamille's head down so she could see, "Dude, Chumley, you rock at art stuff...could ya help me with mine?"

Khamille growled and looked up at her roommate, "I don't think he can do GIR, Kairi...," she muttered.

"PIGGY!"

**"Attention! Chumley Huffington, please report to Chancellor Shephards office!"**

Christina turned and fell over, squeaking at the gigantic face of Crowler's that was plastered on the big screen monitor at the front of the classroom.

A worried look crossed Chumley's face before he slowly made his way towards the door.

"Is he in trouble?" Syrus asked, turning to Jaden.

His best friend shrugged, "Beats me, Sy...,"

"If he is, I'd say he's been raiding the grilled cheeses from everyone besides us Slifers," Siho cracked.

-----

Chumley stood before Chancellor Shephard and Doctor Crowler, feeling extremely nervous about why he had been summoned to the Chancellor's office.

"Um...am I like...um...busted?"

Shephard laughed a little, "Heaven's no, Chumley. I've called you here because I have some _very_ good news for you,"

Chumley blinked in surprise, "You...you do?"

"Look," Shephard picked up a single card from his desk and held it out to Chumley.

Chumley took it from the old man and looked at it, his eyes widened, stunned at what he saw, "It's...it's my card!" he gasped.

Shephard nodded, "Congratulations, Chumley, your card design came in first in Industrial Illusions contest! It's now official,"

"Huh?" Chumley looked up at him, still confused, "But who chose-?"

**"_I_ did, Chumley-boy,"**

Chumley turned to see Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters himself, on the TV monitor on the wall nearby.

**"There were so many cards, and so little time to choose...but _your_ card...was like a gift sent from the angels themselves! From an angel named Chumley,"**

The chunky Slifer smiled and walked over to the TV monitor as the silver-haired billionaire adjusted his seating.

**"There's more, Chumley-boy,"** Pegasus pointed straight at him, **"I want your big brain working on more cards! Working for me, at Industrial Illusions..._if_ your teachers concur, of course,"**

Those were the billionaire's last words because the feed between both monitors ended, leaving Chumley standing there, the shocking news still trying to soak into his brain.

"Chumley, this is an extraordinary opportunity!" Shephard said excitedly, "My boy, you have my recommendation, you can be sure of that!"

"Pegasus...," Chumley slowly turned around, still stunned, "...wants _me_?"

"Uh, a moment, Chancellor?" Crowler turned, frowning, "I'm troubled,"

Shephard sighed exasperatedly, "What is it, now? Just say 'yes!' already,"

Crowler scowled and turned to look at the Slifer, "But Chumley hasn't passed his exams!" he protested, "What kind of school would we be if we sent Pegasus a flunky?"

"Crowler, c'mon...give the kid a break, for Pete's sake!" Shephard muttered, on the verge of begging.

Scoffing, Crowler folded his arms and turned away, "...if Chumley can beat me in a duel, then I'll let him go," he offered slowly.

"A...a duel?" Chumley stammered.

"_But_," Crowler shot a glare at the Slifer, "...if he loses, he will be expelled immediately!"

Chumley flinched, and opened his mouth to say something, but Shephard beat him to it.

"It's decided then," the bald man nodded, "Good luck, Chumley! You'll need it, because Crowler plays for to win," he advised.

Crowler smirked, "And 'win' is what I'll do tomorrow,"

Chumley gulped and nodded, then turned and left the office. As soon as the doors closed behind him, his eavesdropping friends approached him from both sides.

"So, what's goin' on?" Christina hissed.

Jaden, "Yeah, you in trouble or what?"

Chumley shook his head and held up his custom card, his friends' eyes bugging out at the sight.

"Oh my God," Kairi's jaw dropped, "You got made into a card?!"

Khamille whistled, "Damn...,"

Jaden grinned, "That's awesome, Chum!"

"But...um...," Chumley stuttered, still in shock at what had happened in there.

"But um _what_?" Jaden slapped him on the shoulder, "C'mon, you should be estactic! This is huge!"

"Sure is!" Syrus nodded, "Congrats!"

Chumley sighed and walked away, holding his card, "I guess...,"

As he walked away, Christina turned to Siho, "Is it just me, or does Koala boy seem a little depressed?"

"Just a little," her friend muttered sarcastically.

-----

Later that night, as his friends lay sleeping in their beds, Chumley sat on the cliff edge near the Slifer Red dorms, looking out at the ocean. He was so nervous about the duel tomorrow...how could _he_, a guy who's flunked all his tests before, _possibly_ beat the Head of Obelisk Blue? The same one that tried to get Jaden expelled, no less.

"Hey, Chumley, what are you doing out here?"

Chumley looked over his shoulder to see Jaden standing behind him, a tired look in his eyes.

"Can't sleep because you won that big contest, huh?" Jaden walked over and sat down beside him, "I'd be excited, too,"

Chumley frowned and rested his head on his knees, "Jaden...we um...need to talk. It's _really_ important,"

"If it's about the leftover grilled cheese," Jaden waved him off smiling, "It's cool that you ate 'em all...not like we can't make more or anything,"

"It's not that...Jaden, they're gonna kick me out tomorrow unless I beat Crowler in a duel!"

Jaden frowned and shook his head as his friend got to his feet, "Hold on...rewind, and repeat, Chum," he rubbed his temples, "Didn't you _just_ get a job offer at Industrial Illusions?"

"That's _if_ I beat him," Chumley explained, still gazing out at the water.

"Man, why does Crowler have to make everything so difficult?" Jaden muttered before getting to his feet, "Well, guess what, Chum? You're gonna take down that creepy Crowler! _I_ did, so you can too, Chumley! We just gotta get you ready!"

"Damn straight on the 'we' part, Jay,"

Both boys turned to see Christina standing there, a sly grin on her face as she cracked her knuckles. Chumley smiled nervously, "Thanks you guys...,"

"No problem," Jaden slapped his shoulder, "Now, tell us about this new card of yours...,"

"Yeah, I'm all up for it,"

-----

The next day, every single one of Chumley's friends came to the appointed dueling arena to cheer him on when he dueled Crowler.

"Let's go, Chumley!" Jaden called out to his friend, "We're rootin' for ya!"

Syrus looked at him worriedly, "Jaden...aren't you scared for Chumley?"

"No way!" Jaden grinned, "We stayed up all night and trained for this match!"

"Well, that explains Chrissy...," Syrus thought aloud, looking behind him to see Christina struggling hard not to doze off in her seat.

"We're here for ya, Chumley!" Alexis cheered from her seat, a few rows above Jaden and Syrus.

"We are?" Chazz asked surprised, "Oh, right, I mean, yeah, we are," he said quickly, turning away from the glare that Alexis gave him.

Down below, Crowler stepped onto the platform, his custom duel vest on and his deck already inside.

"Don't be nervous Chumley," he advised casually, "This duel will simply affect the rest of your life!"

Chumley gulped as he held his duel disk close to him, "O-okay...,"

Crowler rolled his eyes and turned on his duel vest, "Well, what are you waiting for, a written invitation?"

Chumley frowned deeply and donned his duel disk, deck at the ready, "I got one right here!"

"LET'S DUEL!" both of them shouted as they drew their cards.

**Cr: 4000  
Ch: 4000**

"Here we go, Chumley...," the large Slifer drew his card and looked at his hand, "I think...that I'll put down one card facedown in defense mode,"

Crowler scoffed as a card popped out into his hand, "That move was utterly...what is that word? Oh yes, lame!" he held up a card, "I play the Spell card Magnet Circle LV2!"

Chazz shook his head at the move, "Aw man, Chumley is in for it now...,"

Kairi looked up at him, "Watcha mean, Chazz?"

"Just watch...," he muttered, nodding back to the duel.

"Thanks to Magnet Circle, I can summon _this_!" Crowler placed a card onto his disk, "Ancient Gear (100/800)!"

A small, strange monster appeared on the field, looking like a mutant reject from the inside of a clock or something. The upper body was made of a large gear combined with smaller ones, while two small metal arms lay at it's side.

"Now, it's special effect allows me to summon another one!" Crowler explained as an identical Gear monster appeared on the field, "Now, I sacrifice my two Ancient Gears to summon my Ancient Gear Golem (3000/3000)!"

Crowler's legendary mechanical giant rose out of the floor behind him, steam puffing out from any and all crevices.

"Now, Gear Golem," he pointed to Chumley's facedown card, "Attack! Mechanized Melee!" he ordered.

Chumley watched as the giant Golem pulled back it's might metal arm, then thrust it downward at his facedown monster, which was soon flipped over to reveal a brown koala bear munching on green leaves. It was a Des Koala (1100/1800).

"You never did study," Crowler hissed at the sight of the monster, "If my Ancient Gear Golem has more attack points than your monsters defense points, then the extra damage goes to you!" he explained as the punch rammed hard into the Koala.

**Cr: 4000  
Ch: 2800**

Chumley groaned at the loss of points, but regained his footing, "You're gonna get it now...,"

Crowler raised an eyebrow and looked at the field. His eyes widened at the sight of the Koala holding for dear life on Golem's hand, glaring daggers at Crowler himself before it blew apart.

"Des Koala's flip effect!" Chumley smiled, "For every card in your hand, Koala deals you 400 points of damage!" he explained as Crowler stumbled, feeling the damage come through.

**Cr: 3200  
Ch: 2800**

Syrus stared at the duel, very surprised, "When did Chumley learn to duel like _that_?"

Jaden laughed, "Told ya not to worry, Syrus. This is just the type of thing we were talking about," he looked at him, "Remember when he dueled his dad, and he forgot about Des Koala's ability? But thanks to last night, Chumley's a lean, mean, dueling machine!" he turned back and looked at the duel, "...okay, maybe not _lean_,"

Chumley drew his card, "I summon Eucalyptus Mole (1300/1300) in defense mode!" he declared as a large, hedgehog-like monster appeared, giant green leaves growing out of his back, "Next, I'll lay down another facedown and end my turn,"

"Come now, Chumley, _that's_ your move?" Crowler scoffed, taking a new card from his vest, "Ancient Gear Golem, attack Eucalyptus Mole with Mechanized Melee!"

Once again, the giant mecha-man pulled back his arm, then rammed it downward, striking the Mole dead on, destroying him completely.

Crowler smiled, "And, of course, the extra damage between defense and attack points go to you...,"

**Cr: 3200  
Ch: 1100**

"Just wait one minute!" Chumley snapped, "Since you destroyed my Mole, I get a Koala from my deck!" he explained, taking out his deck and going through it for a few moments, "Guess who wants to say hi? My little friend, Big Koala (2700/2000)!!!"

Chumley's gigantic blue Koala appeared on the field, staring down Ancient Gear Golem, who was about as tall as the Koala, if not bigger!

"More like a big waste," Crowler chuckled, taking a card from his hand, "I summon the Ancient Gear Soldier (1300/1300) in defense mode,"

"Whatever...check this," Chumley drew his card, "Lishus! I'll play Wild Nature's Release! All of a sudden, my Big Koala's defense points are added onto his attack points!" he grinned as his Koala glowed with new power.

Big Koala (4700/2000)

Alexis smiled and shook her head, very impressed, "When did Chumley get so good?"

"From watching me," Syrus said, popping out of his seat.

Christina shot a tired glare at him and rose up behind him, "Yeah, _that's_ how he got so good," she muttered darkly in his ear.

"Go on and take down that rusty pile of bolts!" Chumley ordered, pointing to Ancient Gear Golem, "Take Down From Down Under!"

Crowler looked away as his Ancient Gear Golem was tackled by the Big Koala, his Life Points taking a chunk of damage.

**Ch: 1500  
Cr: 1100**

_Nothing I can't come back from..._ Crowler thought, smirking a bit.

Chumley pumped his arm, "Alright! Now, check out my facedown. This is like, so totally awesome! Beast Soul Swap allows me to take a monster from my field, put in my hand, then I get to summon another monster with the same level onto the field!" he explained as his Big Koala disappeared, "So I choose...my second Big Koala!"

Syrus frowned and scratched his head, "Um...I'm lost. Why did Chumley trade one monster for another?" he looked around, "Anyone? Anyone?"

Siho grinned and leaned forward, "Wild Nature's Release, although it _does_ boost a monsters points, it destroys the monster at the end of the turn...unless you switch it with another monster, like Big Boy did,"

"Impressive, Siho," Bastion nodded slowly, "You've been studying...,"

"Hell, I gotta, it's the friggin' finals, man," Siho shrugged, sitting back down.

Jaden grinned at the two of them, "I think Sy slept through _that_ class,"

Syrus snapped his head at Jaden, "LOOK WHO'S TALKING!"

"Actually, I wouldn't call it sleeping in class," Jaden said defensively, "I like to call it Scheduled Study Eye Breaks...,"

"Give _us_ a break, Jaden," Alexis and Christina said in unison.

Chumley pointed to the Ancient Gear Soldier, "Alright, Big Koala, Take Down that Gear Soldier!" he ordered.

The Big Koala growled and galloped over to the opposite side of the field, jumping into the air halfway there and falling onto the Gear Soldier, crushing it to nothingness.

"Now _that's_ an Aussie-sized Super Slam!"

Crowler glared lightly, _It's all for naught..._

"I'll be layin' down one facedown, and I'll end my turn," Chumley finished, slipping a card into his disk.

Crowler's next card popped out, _The tutorial is over...time to give Chumley a **real** schooling!_

"Let's see how you handle _this_!" Crowler snapped, slipping a card into an empty slot, "I activate my Pot of Greed, which of course, allows me to draw two more cards," he explained, adding the new cards to his hand, "Such as the ultimate Spell card, the Ancient Gear Factory!"

Everyone watched in awe as a very impressive, yet strange looking factor rose up behind Crowler, mechanical limbs, wheels, wires, and conveyor belts coming out the wazoo.

"Dear Chumley, you're about to fail...for the _last_ time!" Crowler waved an arm to his creation, "The Ancient Gear Factory...beautiful, isn't it? It allows me to summon _any _Ancient Gear monster that I hold...such as," he held up an all-too-familiar card, "The Ancient Gear Golem!"

"Not again!" Jaden moaned.

"Just what is he trying to pull?" Alexis asked, "What about his sacrifices? I mean, Golem kinda needs 'em...,"

"Not quite,"

Everyone in the audience turned to see not one, but two familiar faces. One was Chancellor Shephard and the other was...

"KRISTERR?!" Khamille shrieked, rising to her feet, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Khamille's violet-haired brother waved her off idly with one hand as he propped his head up with the other, "Easy, little sister...I'll explain later, just watch the duel. Your friend is having a rough time, and you're demanding why I'm here?" he shook his head, "Not very good on the friend meter...,"

"But-,"

"Hush and watch!"

Crowler looked away from the spectators, back to Chumley, "Chancellor Shephard's right. I don't _need_ a sacrifice...all I must do is look into my Graveyard,"

"Huh?" Chumley raised his eyebrow, confused.

"If my Graveyard holds Ancient Gear monsters whose level are twice that of my Golem, _they _become the sacrifice for my Golem, even though they're already destroyed!" he explained as the factory activated, churning loudly, the bolts and slabs of metal going through the mix.

Everyone watched as the star symbols on the top of the factory began to glow one by one, the machine becoming louder and louder with each lit star.

Smiling, Crowler held up a victory sign, "Let's all welcome back the Ancient Gear Golem!"

At those words, the factory began to pull apart, huge puffs of steam hissing out of every crack and crevice. Everyone watched the giant mechnical man rise out of the factory, joints creaking and gears grinding.

"What a move!" Jaden praised from the sidelines, "I mean...you know, I guess it's a good move...,"

Christina leaned over and grabbed Jaden in a tight headlock, "Just whose side are you on, Jaden?! You turnin' on Chumley?!"

Siho grabbed a hold of his friend, "Chrissy, leggo, leggo! He's turning blue!"

"Good, he'll match the color of his new best friend's coat!"

Alexis shook her head and hid her face in her hand, "Honestly you two...,"

"Dear Chumley, how could I possibly recommend you for a job at Industrial Illusions? I mean...come on, you can't even win _one, easy_ duel!" he taunted before pointing once more to the Koala, "Ancient Gear Golem, destroy Big Koala with Mechanized Melee!"

The giant Golem followed orders once again as it threw it's metal fist hard into Koala's gut, destroying him mercilessly.

**Cr: 1500  
Ch: 800**

Chumley lifted his head after the attack, "I play a Trap card!" he declared, pressing a button on his disk, "It's a totally lishus one called Animal Trail!"

The area surrounding Chumley suddenly transformed into a patch of very tall grass that went all the way up to the top of the boys head.

"This Trap card lets Des Kangaroo (1500/1700) hop from my deck, directly into my hand!" Chumley explained as a large, green Kangaroo wearing a purple vest, and boxing equipment came hopping out of the tall grass. As soon as it came to Chumley, it disappeared in a glow and the new card appeared in Chumley's hand.

"A kangaroo?" Crowler smirked, "You'll have to do _much_ better than _that,_ Chumley...something like," he held up a card after slipping a card into his Graveyard, "Ancient Gear Drill! Impressive, isn't it? This...lishus card, allows me to take _any_ Spell card from my deck...," he fanned out his deck and plucked a card, then slipped it into his disk, "...to place it facedown," he explained gleefully.

Syrus laid his head on the seat in front of him, "Aw man...,"

"Did he say _any_ Spell card?" Alexis asked, wanting to make sure of the move.

Bastion sighed softly, "This is not boding well...,"

"Aw, just give it up, already," Chazz muttered under his breath, "He's through...,"

"Not yet!" Jaden cupped his hands over his mouth, "Chumley! Remember last night? The thing that Chrissy and I told ya!!"

"Which was what?" both Chrissy and Shephard asked him.

Siho rolled his eyes, "For the love of Ra...,"

Jaden shot up from his seat, "Your friends are with you Chumley! Now and forever!" he yelled.

Chumley turned and watched his friends stand up one by one, cheering him on.

_I get it now...that's why Jaden and the others have so much fun! Because they never duel alone...they duel with us! _Chumley reached for his deck, "And I got them! You can't beat me, Crowler! Not when I got my best buds with me!"

"Atta boy, Chumley!" Jaden whooped.

Alexis smiled, "He looks so happy!"

"That's a first," Bastion cracked.

"Yeah, yeah," Chazz rubbed the back of his head, "Big deal...,"

Siho and Christina exchanged grins while Kairi waved her hands in the air screaming wildly for the big duelist, Khamille still glancing at her brother.

"Jaden, Christina...," he nodded to the both of them, "Thank you for everything! Now," he turned back to Crowler, "Let's do this!"

Crowler scoffed, "Jaden can't save you!"

"But...this card _just_ might," Chumley prayed as he drew his next card. He looked at the card and his eyes went big, _It's my card! The card I thought up after I went camping with my dad..._ Chumley sighed loudly, _Aw, who am I kidding? It was when I ran away after failing my second advancement exam! I went to toss my deck off the biggest rock I could find and give up dueling for good. But then it happened! I saw the most awesome-lishus sunrise ever! And that's when I realized, that even though things may seem their darkest at times, they won't stay that way for long!_ Chumley lifted his head and looked straight at Crowler, a confident look in his eyes.

Crowler saw that look in his eyes and was taken back. He had never seen Chumley like this before...

"I activate Ayer's Rock Sunrise!" Chumley cried, holding out his custom card.

Behind Chumley, a large, flat rock formation rose out of the floor, a beautiful sunlight pouring out from behind it. Chumley glanced out of the corner of his eye, and he swear that he could see his Des Koala floating beside him, nodding happily.

"You can't keep the sun from rising...," Chumley looked back at Crowler, "...and you can't stop my dream! I _will_ be a famous card designer! Now, let's see the first of my cards in action! First, it let's me summon one Beast from the Graveyard...think you can guess _who_?" Chumley asked as his Graveyard slot glowed brightly, "The one, the only...Big Koala!"

Chumley's huge, blue Beast appeared on the field, growling as it munched on the leaves it had in its mouth.

"Now, turn your eyes to my Graveyard, because for each Beast, Plant, or Winged-Beast in my Graveyard, Mr Tall-Dark-and-Rusty...," he looked to Ancient Gear Golem as two beams shot out of his deck, "...loses 200 attack points!"

Crowler looked up and cringed at the sight of Des Koala and Eucalyptus Mole appeared, gnawing at his monster, weakening him.

Ancient Gear Golem (2600/3000)

"Now, how about we try something fuse-a-lishus with Polymerization?!" Chumley held up the Spell card, as well as a certain monster, "I fuse Big Koala and Des Kangaroo to summon Master of Oz (4200/3700) in attack mode!"

With a mighty quake, the gigantic boxing Koala appeared on the top of Ayer's Rock, ready to fight it out.

"That's like Chumley's best monster!" Syrus half-shouted happily.

Jaden smiled a little, "Go get 'im, Chum...,"

Chumley looked up at Master of Oz, the great Beast standing impressively against the sunrise behind Ayer's Rock, "Alright...time to finally ace an exam," he breathed.

Crowler stared at Chumley for a few moments, "Bravo, Chumley..._very_ impressive. Especially for _you_," he praised evenly.

_Impressive indeed, but how can **I**, Doctor Crowler, an Obelisk Blue, allow a Slifer Red flunkie to defeat moi?! The anwer: I can't. You attack me, and it will be your last mistake..._ Crowler thought, closing his eyes.

"Alright, Master of Oz...," Chumley looked at the enemy, a fierce look in his eyes, "Attack Ancient Gear Golem with Outback Attack!" he roared.

Master of Oz hopped off Ayer's Rock and raced towards the mech-man, his mighty fist pulled back for pull power in his punch.

"I play the Quick Spell card, Limter Removal!" Crowler declared, his facedown pulling upward, "With it, the attack points of all my Machines are _doubled_!"

Ancient Gear Golem (5200/3000)

Master of Oz (4200/3700)

Chumley grimaced, "Aw, man...this is _not_ good news,"

Ancient Gear Golem and Master of Oz met each other on the dueling field, their respective arms coming in for the finishing move. With an almighty slam, the two monsters became still...before Master of Oz blew up, destroyed by the Golem's superior punching strength.

**Cr: 1500  
Ch: 0**

Chumley stared at what had just happened, tears trickling down his fat cheeks, "I...I lost...," he sobbed miserably.

This was the worst day of his life. He had been given the opportunity to work as a card designer for the man that invented Duel Monsters, but he had that snatched away when Crowler's Golem clobbered his Koala.

As misery floated around him, Chumley could hear the faint sound of clapping. He turned to see everyone in the stands clapping their hands, some of them whistling.

"That was your best duel yet, Chumley!" Jaden cheered.

"Yeah, totally!" Syrus looked over to his friends, "Right guys? Right?"

Bastion nodded, "Yes, bravo!"

"Eh, not too shabby, I guess...," Chazz muttered, smiling a little as he clapped.

Christina put two fingers in her mouth and whistled so loudly, that everyone around her hand to cover their ears...until Kairi, Khamille and Siho tackled her, shutting her up.

Chumley frowned, confused, "But...I still lost...," he murmured, the tears coming again, "I can't get my dream job!"

"Stop that crying!"

"Huh?" Chumley turned to see Crowler walking up to him, looking solemn, yet a bit proud.

"It's true that you've lost this duel, but losing doesn't _always_ mean failing,"

Chumley stared at him, dumbfounded, "Uh...waddya mean?"

"Yeah, what does he mean?" Jaden repeated, turning to Shephard.

"You see, Chumley, the duel was not to win or lose, but to prove your ability," Crowler explained, earning another confused 'huh?' from Chumley, "For the talent displayed today, how could I fail you? I will give you a full recommendation for the position at Industrial Illusions,"

Chumley's jaw dropped, "So...I'm not gettin' kicked out?"

Crowler held out his hand, "You're _graduating_...,"

Chumley looked down, smiled and took Crowler's hand, shaking it with pride.

"Farewell, and congratulations, Chumley,"

On the sidelines, his friends were filled with mixed emotions. They were so happy for him, but a lot of them didn't want to see him go.

"He's really going, isn't he?" Syrus asked, his voice cracking, "I dunno how I should feel...,"

Jaden turned to his friend, "Look, Chumley gets to follow his dream. Let's not be sad, let's be all party and hugs!"

Christina stuck out her tongue at Jaden's peptalk, "God, I wanna hit you so much right now...,"

"Why?" Siho whispered, leaning inward.

"I dunno...," Christina's eye began to twitch, "I just...wanna...hit him...so much...right now...," she cracked her knuckles, "Hold me back!"

"CHRISTINA!"

-----

Later that afternoon, after many tearful goodbyes (and a major glomping from Christina, which needed the Jaws of Life to save "Koala-Boy"), everyone watched as Chumley's plane flew away into the air, taking him to better opportunities.

Jaden gave his two-finger salute to the plane, "Chumley...good luck, buddy,"

At that moment, Chumley was looking back at Duel Academy, no longer wearing his Slifer Red uniform, but a suit for his first day at his dream job. He turned away from the window and sat back in his chair, sniffing.

"Goodbye everyone. Jaden...Sy...Christina...Siho...Kairi...," he wiped the tears away, "I'll be back, I promise! I'll be back...someday,"

As the plane continued it's journey, Chumley's duel spirit, his Des Koala sat in the seat behind Chumley, smiling at his friend's success as it munched on eucalyptus leaves.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: -sniffs- I'm-a-gonna miss Chumley...at least he's safe from the Shadow Game-proned Duel Island, huh? That's something good!**

**Now, before I go and prepare the most anticipated final chapters of this fic, allow me to say something interesting. Ahem...**

**Ayer's Rock is an actual stone formation in Australia, which has many watering holes, springs, cave paintings and rock caves. Ayer's Rock is well known for it's color changing at certain times of the day, which creates beautiful sights for those who look at it. It's also called Uluru and it's one of the most recognizable features of Australia!**

**Well, that's it, I'm done. Catch ya later, ya'll!**

**P.S. if you're still wondering why Khamille's brother is there...I'm just as confused as you are...no, not really! You'll see what he's doing there in the next chapter. I was gonna do it in this one, but I felt...meh.**


	74. Fly at Higher Game! Part One

**Fly At Higher Game! Part One**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: This is it ya'll...REMATCH!!! Plus, I like the title...hehehehe. Taken from the theme of Yu-Gi-Oh! Season Zero, case some of ya didn't know.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

"Calm down, already Chrissy, we're getting good seats...BELIEVE IT!"

"I swear to all the Egyptian Gods, you quote the english dub of _Naruto_ again, I'm gonna make sure you never have kids in da future, Siho,"

The two Slifers ran down the halls of the school, hoping to get to the arena in time to see the Grad Match, the biggest and final official match of the school year. Zane Truesdale, the Kaiser of Duel Academy had gotten the highest scores on his final exams and because of that, he had the honor of choosing his opponent for this match.

Needless to say, no one was surprised that he chose Jaden Yuki as his opponent. In fact, they were all looking forward to this. Either from hearing about, or seeing their first match, Jaden's friends were really wanting to see Jaden go head to head against Truesdale one more time before the year ended. Even though that Chazz thought that he was the one who should face Zane and not Jaden...but that was Chazz, no one really cared what he thought.

**(Author's Notes: Booya, first Chazz burn in the chapter!)**

The two of them entered the arena and saw that the place was _packed_! Every student from every dorm was in a seat, clamoring about what a great match this would be. After a short time of difficulty, the two Slifers found themselves among their friends who were already waiting for them.

"This is gonna be sweet," Jordan rubbed his hands together.

"I know! Jaden and Zane in the final throwdown of the year! Who could ask for a better match?" Atticus breathed.

Bastion pulled out a notepad and pencil, writing down figures, "It's a mismatch," he said firmly, "According to my figures, Zane's at a great advantage,"

Alexis looked at him, "Yet, there are some things no one can figure...,"

"Mhm," Siho nodded, "Like, how many times can one man be hit by lightning before becoming forever statically charged,"

Bastion paused in his figures, then went to a new page and began jotting down numbers. Siho smacked the notepad out of his hands, "Stop that! I was just kidding,"

Chazz growled and crossed his arms, _What I can't figure out is how The Chazz got left out of **this** duel!_ he thought as the crowd suddenly began to cheer. The group watched as both Zane and Jaden marched out into the arena together, then split away, walking to their ends of the room.

Syrus cleaned his glasses, "Man, Jaden looks serious!"

"That's gotta be a first," Christina murmured.

"I wonder if he's nervous?" Alexis thought aloud.

Bastion squirmed a bit in his seat, "He ought to be,"

"No kidding!" Atticus shook his head, "This is _Zane_, the Kaiser of Duel Academy we're talking about here,"

Down below, the two duelists stepped onto the platform and walked towards the middle of it, where the two of them stared each other down.

"Alright Zane, may the best duelist win," Jaden said quietly, holding out his hand.

Zane nodded and took his hand, shaking it.

After exchanging pleasant formalities, the two duelists walked back to their ends and faced each other once again, their duel disks now activating. Jaden took his five cards for his hand and looked up at Zane, who was doing the same thing. The air in the arena was thick with tension.

The Hero of Slifer Red versus the Obelisk Kaiser of Duel Academy.

The Grad Match, the _final _match was about to begin.

Chancellor Shephard looked at Crowler, who held a microphone and nodded.

Crowler returned the nod and stood up, "Now, the Graduation Match between Zane Truesdale and Jaden...is it Yucky? No, wait Yoody? No, no, Yuki, _Yuki_!"

"Enough small talk!" Zane snapped.

"You got that right," Jaden shot back at him.

The two of them now had a look of fierce determination on their faces.

"LET'S DUEL!" the two of them shouted as their Life Point meters flared to life and the crowd cheered wildly.

**Z: 4000  
J: 4000**

"Get your game on, Zane!" Jaden's hand hovered over his deck, "So, who goes first?"

"You choose,"

"Well, in that case, I'll go second,"

Zane blinked, surprised at the choice, "Really? Second?"

_Interesting choice_ he thought, staring at Jaden.

_By going second, Zane won't be able to summon that powerful Cyber Dragon, because there won't be a monster out on the field to do it_ Jaden thought, glancing at his hand.

Zane bit his tongue in thought, _Someone's been reading up on me..._

"Alright, Zane, time to throw down!"

"Very well then, here goes!" Zane drew his sixth card, "I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! Now, by sending some select monsters from my hand to the Graveyard, I can summon a Fusion Monster!"

"To..the grave?"

"That's right, Jaden! There's more than one way to skin a cat...or in this case, summon a dragon!" Zane held up three cards, "I'll send the three Cyber Dragons (2100/1600) in my hand to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)!!"

Everyone in the arena watched as Zane's most powerful Dragon appeared on the field, it's three heads roaring fiercely.

"Dear me!" Bastion gasped.

"And me," Syrus moaned.

"He's good," Alexis murmured.

Christina and Siho looked at one another, then back at the duel.

"You think Jaden has a chance?" Kairi turned to Khamille, who shrugged.

Jaden was a bit shocked to see the Dragon, _I was wondering why he didn't care who went first, but now I know. He's prepared for any situation...the question is, am I? Especially with that Cyber End Dragon out! When that thing destroys a monster in defense mode, the difference between it's attack points and the defending monsters defense points are dealt to me as direct damage to my Life Points! Man, how can I let this happen?!_

Growling, Jaden shook his head, "Well, are you done, or is there anything else you wanna throw at me?"

"As a matter of fact, there is...," Zane placed a card into a slot, "Different Dimension Capsule! Now Jaden, I select one card in my deck and remove it from play," he took a card out of his deck, "But two turns from now, it comes to my hand!".

"Hey I remember this...," Jaden watched as the strange coffin sank beneath the floor, _In our first match, Zane used the Capsule to add Power Bond to his hand...wonder if he's doing the same thing now?_

"Finally, I'll place one card facedown, and end my turn," Zane finished as he slipped a card into his disk.

_The plot thickens...a facedown card too? I can't tell what those cards are, but I have a hunch. Yeah, that Capsule card **must** be Power Bond, and the facedown card must be De-Fusion! He must be planning to De-Fuse Cyber End Dragon, then use Power Bond to finish me off!_

"Jaden, go on, it's your turn now," Zane said loudly, staring cooly at him.

Off to the sides, his friends saw how Jaden was acting in this duel...and it kind of worried them.

"What's wrong with him?" Alexis asked, "It's like he's frozen up?"

"Aw man," Syrus whimpered.

Christina's leg bounced up and down, "C'mon, Jaden...,"

_Heh, Zane thinks he's gonna outsmart me again, but this time..._ Jaden grinned a little, _I'll outsmart him, and I'll do that right now!_

"Here goes!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in attack mode!"

Jaden's shirtless wildman appeared on the field, growling fiercely at the multi-headed dragon.

"Now, I'm gonna activate the effect of Wild Half!" Jaden held up another card, "Because of it's effect, the attack of your monster is split in half!"

Cyber End Dragon (2000/2800)

"Now, a Half Token with the same number of attack points of your weakened dragon is summoned!" Jaden explained as an identical Cyber End Dragon appeared on the field, "But I'm not done yet, 'cuz now I play the Equip Spell card Cyclone Boomerang to Wildheart! Now, his attack points increase by 500!"

Cyber End Dragon (2000/2800)  
Cyber End Half Token (2000/2800)

E-Hero Wildheart (2000/1600)

"Now Wildheart, attack Cyber End Dragon with Wild Walloping Boomerang!" Jaden orderd, pointing to the Half Token of the three headed dragon.

Zane kept a calm face as the boomerang came at his monster, and pressed a button on his duel disk, "I don't think so! I play De-Fusion!"

Everyone watched as the Half Token monster split into three seperate, followed by Wildheart's attacking boomerang whizzing right between two of them, missing either of them completely.

Jaden growled, "Against any of those three Cyber Dragons, Wildheart can't win, but with that one Cyber End Dragon, Wildheart has a chance...yeah, a really small one, but I have no other choice but to go for it. I just have to hope for the very best, otherwise _I'll_ be bested!"

Once again, the giant boomerang spun through the air and made contact with the Cyber End Dragon, blowing it up completely. The only price he had to pay was his Wildheart, which blew up seconds afterward.

"He did it...," Alexis murmured, "Jaden destroyed Zane's Cyber End Dragon!"

Bastion nodded, "Indeed he did, Jaden must've calculated that Zane's facedown was De-Fusion. Impressive,"

"Yeah, but that's not really Jaden's style," Syrus piped.

Christina and Siho exchanged glances again before looking back at the duel.

"Sure, Wildheart's gone too, but since he was equipped with Cyclone Boomerang, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are destroyed!" he paused as the Different Dimension Capsule appeared, only to be blown to bits, "And for every Spell or Trap card destroyed, you take 500 big points of damage, Zane!"

**Z: 3500  
J: 4000**

Crowler gawked, "So, he not only destroyed the Cyber End Dragon, but he took the lead in the duel?!" he shrieked in disbelief.

Shepphard nodded, "Yes, it seems that way. Jaden has really done his homework here...," he mused.

"Done his homework?" Crowler repeated slowly, "Well, it certainly would be the _first_ time!"

Jaden tapped his forehead, looking right at Zane, "No more! In this duel, I'm playing with my head and not my heart!" he inserted a card into his disk, "Next, I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn!"

"Oh, is that it? Very well," Zane drew his next card, "First of all, the card removed from play using Capsule, returns to me,"

"Hey!" Jaden interjected, "Wait a sec! So...the card that was in there..._wasn't_ Power-Bond?"

"No, it wasn't. Seems like you've overthought this one, Jaden," Zane turned over the mentioned card, "It was Card From the Different Dimension!"

Jaden's eyes widened a bit, "Whoa, didn't see that comin'...,"

"Due to this," Zane went on, "We both get to draw two cards from our decks and add them to our hands,"

Chazz nodded, "I get it. To summon his Cyber End Dragon, Zane had to use four of his cards. If he had used De-Fusion, then Power-Bond right after, there wouldn't be any cards left in his hand to use!"

"And that would be Zane in a tough spot," Bastion agreed.

Alexis nodded a little, "Yeah...,"

"He sure is a clever guy," Atticus leaned over and looked at his baby sister, "Maybe you should root for him instead of your boyfriend Jaden?"

"Shut up!" Alexis turned from her brother while Jordan tackled Atticus in a headlock.

Chazz cleared his throat, "Awkward...,"

"C'mon, Jay...," Syrus stared hard at the duel, "Hang in there,"

"Man, my leg's gettin' all jumpy...,"

_WHACK_

"OW! WHAT THE HELL, CHRISSY?!"

"I made it stop jumping! You should thank me!"

Back on the field, both duelists drew their two new cards.

"Alright...," Zane looked up at Jaden, "Cyber Dragon, wage a direct attack on Jaden! Strident Blast!" he ordered.

The first Cyber Dragon roared and fired off a powerful stream of white energy at Jaden's defenseless side.

"Don't think so! I play a Trap called Draining Shield!" Jaden cried out as his facedown was revealed. Moments later, a yellow dome appeared around him and absorbed the oncoming blast of energy.

"Sorry Zane, but your Dragon's attack is canceled!" Jaden grunted as the dome disappeared, "And I get more Life Points, equal to the attack points!"

**Z: 3500  
J: 6100**

"That's fine, Jaden, you'll need them, because my reamaining two Cyber Dragons will attack you directly!" Zane pointed at Jaden as his monsters reared upward, "STRIDENT BLAST!"

Jaden could only watch this time as the combined power of both dragons soared towards him, then cried out in pain as they hit their mark, dealing a great deal of damage.

**Z: 3500  
J: 1900**

"Next, I'll place a card facedown and end my turn," Zane finished, slipping a card into his disk.

"Wow, Jaden just barely survived that turn," Alexis breathed, "Too close,"

"It'll be even closer next time," Bastion thought aloud, "Those Dragons are still out, meaning that Jaden's in a constant state of peril. He _must_ neutralize them!"

"Yeah, no joke, Bastion, that's the question of the day...but," Atticus scratched his head, "How, or more importantly, _when_?"

"You know...," Syrus sat back, "Normally, I would say not to worry-,"

"Yeah right," Siho cracked, earning a slap from both Kairi and Khamille.

Syrus ignored him and looked at Alexis, "But with the way that Jay's overthinking things here, I'm really not so sure...,"

Alexis frowned a little, knowing that he was right, "I know...,"

Chazz glanced at them both for a few seconds before looking ahead.

_C'mon Jaden, use your head!_ Jaden snapped mentally, glaring at the three beasts ahead of him, _You gotta think of a way to get rid of those Cyber Dragons, and you gotta do it right now!_

"Here I got!" Jaden drew his next card, "I play the Spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive! Now, I can select one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand!" he paused as his Graveyard glowed and a card returned back to his hand, "Welcome back, Wildheart! Now...," he held up an all too familiar Spell card, "I activate Polymerization to fuse Wildheart with Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800) to summon the Elemental Hero Wildedge (2600/2300)!"

Jaden smiled as his golden and spiked armored swordsman appeared on the field, "Now, he's gonna edge you out by attacking all the monsters you have on the field with _one _devastating attack! So go and do your thing, Wildedge!" Jaden pointed to the enemy, "Go wild on those three Cyber Dragons!" he ordered.

Wildedge roared a battle-cry and flew at the Dragons, jagged sword held high. With three powerful strokes, he cut deep into the beasts and everyone watched as they were all destroyed at the same time. Zane kept a calm look about him as his Life Points went down.

**Z: 2000  
J: 1900**

"My goodness!" Crowler shot up from his seat, horror-struck, "All _three_ Cyber Dragons destroyed in _one_ turn!?"

Shephard stared in amazement, "Remarkable...this duel certainly is living up to it's hype!"

Jaden smiled proudly, "What a shot! That was the sweetest! There's really something to all this strategizing stuff!"

Zane scoffed and smiled a little at Jaden, "You're a fool...,"

"What?"

"I'm activating the Trap called Return Soul," Zane said, pressing a button on his duel disk, "Now, all my monsters that were destroyed this turn come back and return to my deck!" he explained as his Cyber Dragons appeared and flew into his deck.

Jaden grit his teeth, _Great! Just when I thought I was rid of them, they're back and rarin' to get rid of **me**!_

Zane slowly shuffled his deck, eyes, closed, "What a shame...I picked Jaden Yuki to be my opponent at my last duel...wonder where he is?"

"Say what?" Jaden looked at him, confused.

"You're not being yourself, you're not playing with your heart!"

"That's right!" Jaden shot back, "Because to beat _you_, I gotta play with my head! Like I'm doing now!"

"What you're doing, Jaden, is wasting my time,"

"Sure I am...you can quit the mind games, okay? They're not gonna work,"

"Mind games?" Syrus looked at his best friend, "I don't think that's what Zane's doing, but he does have a point. Jaden's been dueling differently this whole game!"

Zane drew his card, "It's my turn now, and I play the Spell card, Future Fusion! But, this is no _ordinary_ Fusion...you see, I can fuse cards _not_ in my hand! Therefore, I send three Cyber Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Jaden watched as Zane's trademark monster, and probably the most annoying monster he had been up against, returned to the field, roaring all three ends.

"Of course, monsters created by Future Fusion aren't allowed to attack on the turn they're summoned...but I can wait," Zane said quietly, folding his arms over his chest.

_Yeah, well I can't!_ Jaden stared up at the monster, _I gotta think of a way to get rid of that thing, fast! C'mon, Jaden, use your brain!_

"Ok then, my turn!" Jaden drew his card, only to insert it, and the final two cards in his hands into his disk, "I'm throwing down three facedowns and that's it for me,"

"Still with your head," Zane scowled, "You can't win this way, Jaden!"

"Don't think so?" Jaden taunted, "Well, we'll just have to wait and see about that. Go ahead then, Zane, make your move!"

Zane's frown deepened, "What a disappointment you've become...,"

"Enough with that!"

The Kaiser closed his eyes, "Alright, Jaden, fine. If you won't listen to my words, perhaps...," he paused and drew his next card, "You'll listen to my cards! First, I'll play the Spell card, De-Fusion! Now, one Fusion monster on the field returns to my Fusion deck, and my three normal Cyber Dragons come back!" he explained as his three smaller beasts appeared on the field.

He held up the card he just drew, "Now, I'll activate...,"

A blinding light ripped through the arena, causing Jaden to yelp and cover his eyes as the light became brighter and brighter.

"Recognize it, Jaden?" Zane asked as a thick cloud formation appeared overhead, "It's Power-Bond, and I'm going to use it to bring back an old friend...the Cyber End Dragon!"

With an almighty roar and a flash of lightning, Zane's best monster appeared on the field once more, taking it's place behind it's master. Everyone in the arena gasped and looked hard at the duel while Jaden stared at his opponent, not looking very happy...

"If you're wondering, and I'm sure you are, why I brought it back like this," Zane said cooly, "If a monster is summoned by the effects of Power-Bond, it's attack points are _doubled_!"

Cyber End Dragon (8000/2800)

E-Hero Wildedge (2600/2300)

**Z: 2000  
J: 1900**

_Just great! Looks like playing with my head..._ Jaden looked up at the mechanical hydra, _...has gotten me headed to a giant loss! One that I may never live down!_

"And to think, I admired you Jaden...," Zane slowly shook his head, his eyes staring into Jaden's, "I won't make that mistake again...nor will anyone else!"

"Oh no!"

"You're through!"

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Holy...crap...this isn't looking good for our favorite Slifer, folks! He's tried so hard to take down those Dragons, but they keep coming back! C'mon, Jaden, turn this duel around! Until he does, later folks, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**I'm sorry that I haven't updated in sometime, I was REALLY hyped up on my One Piece fic, Desert Storm, but I think I can finally get down to this...mwahahahaha.**

**I know I said I'd explain why Khamille's brother is here, but I think I'll save that til after the major duel (don't want that to steal the spotlight, mwahahaha).**

**Just a couple chaps left folks, and this fic is done! SEE YA SOON!**


	75. Fly at Higher Game! Part Two

**Fly at Higher Game! Part Two**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: OMG! 500 Reviews! _500!!!_ I never thought it'd be like this when I first started this story! -cries rivers- you guys all rock...arigato!**

**_On the last chapter of GX Heroes, Jaden and Zane met once more on the dueling arena, this time, with the whole school watching them for the Graduation Match, the last duel of the year!_**

**_Zane started off with his best monsters, the Cyber Dragons and their three-headed counterpart, Cyber End Dragon. Jaden managed to destroy them, but they kept popping up! It was then Zane realized, and snapped at Jaden for not playing the way he always does, with his heart, and not his head! Jaden shrugged him off as well as his "mindgames" but people watching them began to wonder if Zane was telling the truth. Jaden hadn't been playing the way he usually does, and because of it, he's facing a strong, powered-up monster that could finish this duel in one attack!_**

**_Can Jaden pull through and beat Zane in this glorius rematch? Let's find out!_**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Everyone in the arena looked down at the two duelists in the middle of the platform. The great Kaiser of the school against the famous Hero of Slifer were staring each other down as their monsters growled at their opponents.

**Z: 2000  
J: 1900**

Cyber End Dragon (8000/2800)

E-Hero Wildedge (2600/2300)

"So, what now, Jaden?" Zane asked cooly, looking straight at the Slifer, "You think you can beat _my_ dragon? You've got one monster and he is about to be blasted into oblivion! It's over for you,"

_It can't be over! _Jaden thought, gritting his teeth, _I **know **I can beat that thing, I just gotta do it fast!_

"What's wrong?" Zane raised an eyebrow, "Are you afraid? Is that your problem?"

Jaden could only stare back in silence.

"If that's the case, allow me to put you out of your misery, Jaden!" Zane raised his arm, pointing at him, "Cyber End Dragon, attack!" he commanded.

"Not so fast!" Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I'm playing a Trap called Soul Union! This takes Bladedge's (2600/1800) attack points and add's them all to Wildedge!"

E-Hero Wildedge (5200/1800)

"That's pointless. You see, Jaden, with my Power-Bond, I still have enough points to take down your Wildedge," Zane said evenly as his dragon loomed over the hero.

Jaden looked up at the monster, _He's right...man, I better put my thinking cap back on. Oh wait, it **was** on! _he smacked his forehead with his fist, "C'mon, think brain, you gotta figure this out!"

"Farewell Jaden...Cyber End Dragon, attack and end this duel!"

Everyone watched as the three dragon heads fired off a seperate burst of energy that converged into one powerful stream and blast Wildedge. Jaden covered his face from the smoke, peeking out as best he could, _Man up, Jaden! Your whole year comes down to right now!_

He rose to full height, yelling at the top of his lungs as the attack continued.

"Sorry, Zane...but we're not done," he grinned slyly, holding a thumbs up, "_Yet_!"

**Z: 2000  
J: 100**

Zane's eyes widened in shock, "I don't understand, that hit you dead on. This match should be done!" he exclaimed as murmurs of surprise rippled through the audience.

Jaden stood there, breathing heavily after the devastating attack, "Talk about activating a Spell in the nick of time," he muttered, glancing at the one remaining card on the field, "Thank you Emergency Provisions...,"

Obviously, Jaden had used the effect of Emergency Provisions to gain 1000 more Life Points at the cost of his Soul Union Trap card, saving him just barely.

Sheppard chuckled and nodded in approval from his place in the stands.

"Now," Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I'll play Hero Signal! With this, I can summon any monster with Elemental Hero in it's name! And what better Hero than...," he paused as a beam of light shot upward and his disk began to glow, followed by a very familiar, blue armored and caped man jumping onto the field, "Bubbleman (800/1200)! Now, since he's alone, I get to draw two more cards," Jaden explained as he drew his new cards.

_I may have survived this round, but just barely! So much for using my head over my heart..._

Zane looked at the two cards in his hands and held one up, "Now, I'll summon Cyber Kirin (300/800), and if I should sacrifice him, all card damage this turn, goes to zero! That means that my Power Bond damage is negated!"

Bastion whistled at the move, "Flawless!"

"Totally," Atticus said with a nod.

Kairi hid her eyes behind her hand, "I can't watch...,"

"C'mon, where's the Jaden that almost beat me before?" Zane demanded.

"He's right here!" Jaden shot back, "I think...I dunno...,"

"Of course you don't!" Zane snapped, "Because your heart is not in this...,"

Jaden's face fell, Zane's words buzzing around his skull. As he stood there, he was suddenly assaulted with a loud growling sound, followed by a strange, empty feeling in his gut.

"Looks like my stomach isn't in this either...," he sighed, sitting down behind his Bubbleman, "I kinda skipped lunch,"

Zane stared at him, startled at what he just seen and heard while the audience murmured all around them. Jaden patted his stomach and looked around the arena, "Dorothy! Are you around!" he called out at the top of his lungs. He looked around until he saw the plump woman and her assistant sitting to the right.

"Hey!" he waved at them, "How about some grub?"

Dorothy blinked, but smiled kindly and rose to her feet, "You got it!". Jaden watched as she and the younger girl took off out of their seats.

"What's he doing?" Alexis stared in disbelief, "Having a snack?"

"They say that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Atticus nudged his sister, "Jealous?"

Alexis glared at him, "Oh please!"

"You know, I think Atticus is right...," Christina sat back and put her hands behind her head, "My mom makes these big dinners back home and my dad eats alot. They've been together for a looong time," she said with a thoughtful nod.

"Yeah, you figure with the way you and your dad love food, you'd be Italian," Siho cracked.

"Isn't that a bit of a stereotype?"

"Very odd, wouldn't you agree, Chazz?" Bastion said slowly.

"Duh...wait, you mean Christina or Jaden?" Chazz asked, tapping Chrissy with his boot.

"HEY!"

"Either way, they're both odd,"

Syrus smiled as he watched his friend sit there, waiting for food, "Maybe...but at least he's being himself now,"

Jaden grinned at his friends words, "Sy's right! I haven't been myself, and what better way to be Jaden, then to have a big meal?" he looked at Zane, grin becoming bigger, "So, waddya say, Zane? Mind if I scarf?"

Zane looked at Jaden for a few moments, closed his eyes and smiled a little, "Why not?"

In the stands, Doctor Crowler gawked at the sight, "He _can't_ do that! There's no eating here! What does he think this is, some kind of buffet?!"

Shepphard chuckled, "Can't you give him a break? Remember, he _did_ save the world,"

Crowler slumped in his seat, eye twitching, "I'm trying _not_ too,"

Jaden sat there on the platform as Dorothy and her helper arrived with not only a portable cooking appliance, but a large supply of food, with bowls and plates.

The Slifer sniffed the aroma as the two women made him lunch, "Smells good...I can't believe I went this whole time without eating!" he said as Dorothy handed him a plate of food.

Immediately, Jaden crammed the food into his mouth, and soon, everyone around him watched as Jaden stuffed his face only to stop here and there to wash it down with a bottled drink.

Crowler gagged, "How revolting...wouldn't you agree, Chancellor?"

"_I_ think we're in for a match now," the bald man said with a warm smile.

The Head of Obelisk looked at him, "Just what do you mean?"

"I mean that Jaden learned a valuable lesson," he turned and met his colleague's stare, "He tried to be someone he just _isn't_, and almost lost because of it. You see, Jaden's a great duelist, but not because of his booksmarts, but because he plays with his heart, his soul...," he let out a laugh as a loud belching sound echoed around them, "..and even his stomach. Zane helped him find the duelist that he left behind,"

"Left behind?" Crowler turned and watched as Jaden stood up, adjusting his belt buckle as a pile of plates were at his feet, "Please, he left _nothing_ behind!"

Jaden sighed in relief and wiped his mouth from of crumbs, "Alright, let's go, Zane!"

"Good luck, Jaden, glad I could help!" Dorothy chimed from behind him as they picked up the dishes.

The Slifer waved at them, smiling, "Thanks for the grub!" he turned to Zane and held up his disk, "Now then...,"

Zane chuckled, "Bring it!"

"Here goes!" Jaden drew his card, "I play Pot of Greed! Which means, I get to draw two more cards," he paused and drew the new ones, "Now, I'll play one: Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in defense mode!"

Jaden's feathery friend appeared on the field, kneeling and arms crossed.

"Here's the other one!" Jaden held up the other card, "A Spell called Spy Hero! It activates when I randomly discard two cards from my deck," he explained as he tossed away the cards and a dark figure appeared on his field, "Now my Spy Hero steps in and uses his Super Stealth to steal one of your cards!"

Zane smiled, "Seems like the old Jaden's back,".

A blur of movement made Zane look down to see something grab a card from his Graveyard and throw it to Jaden, who caught it with ease.

Jaden looked at the card and grinned, "Thanks Zane! Future Fusion! Now, all I gotta do is sacrifice a couple of monsters that can be used for a Fusion and _bam!_ I get what they woulda made," he tossed a couple of cards into his Graveyard, "So say goodbye Burstinatrix (1200/800) and Clayman (800/2000), hello to the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500) in defense mode!"

The red armored soldier with a shield flew down from the sky and knelt down, blast at the ready.

"Next, I'll throwdown a couple of facedowns," Jaden slipped two cards into his disk.

"Impressive, but too little too late!" Zane drew his card, "I summon Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600) in attack mode!" he declared as a beautiful, metallic bird with four wings appeared alongside Cyber End Dragon, "With Phoenix on the field, any Spell or Trap cards that target a specific monster are destroyed, meaning that their effect gets canceled out. See where I'm going with this Jaden?"

"Yeah, yeah, Zane, I get it," Jaden glanced at the metal hydra, "The Cyber End Dragon. I can't mess with it with Spells or Traps anymore with Phoenix on the field,"

_Which means it's practically invincible_ he finished mentally.

Chazz looked down at them, "Would one of them just lose already?!" he snapped, impatiently.

"This _is _a tough spot," Bastion reminded him, "What to do?"

Khamille tapped her elbow, staring at the duel, "This is rough...I was in Obelisk, and I saw Zane duel before, but this...I don't know anything for this situation!"

"Looks like your boyfriend isn't doing so well,"

Alexis glared at her brother again, "Jaden's a friend who happens to be a boy, Atty, it doesn't mean he's a boyfriend! Jordy, help me out here!"

"Go Jaden!"

The Rhodes girl almost fell out of her seat, _Thanks Jordy...thanks_

"I'm glad you got to enjoy your lunch, Jaden, but right now, try not to lose it! Cyber End Dragon, attack Rampart Blaster!" Zane roared.

Jaden watched as the familiar beams of energy came flying at his Fusion monster.

"I activate my Spell!" he cried as his facedown reared upward, "De-Fusion! It lets me take a Fusion monster on the field and splits them apart!"

"Sorry, Jaden, but Cyber End Dragon can't be taken apart, Cyber Phoenix is protecting him, remember?" Zane reminded him.

"I'm not going after _him_!" Jaden looked at Zane, "I'm going after one of mine! By splitting Rampart Blaster, I get two monsters and you get no attack!" he explained as his Fusion monster split into Burstinatrix and Clayman just before the beam shot between them.

Now, Jaden had his Avian and Bubbleman in defense mode while Burstinatrix and Clayman were in here attack mode, all of them staring Zane and his beasts down.

"Alright, now _that's_ a line-up!" Syrus whooped, "Jaden's got _four_ Elemental Heroes!"

_Hmm...even if you add up all the attack points of those Heroes, they still wouldn't come even close to my Cyber End Dragon. Jaden's making a grave error..._

Zane's eyes widened when something popped into his head, "Unless-!"

Jaden grinned, as if reading Zane's mind, "Unless, I'm _not_ attacking, I'm sacrificing! And you'll see why when I play _this_, it's one doozy of a Trap card!" he pressed a button on his disk and his facedown was revealed, "Here comes Elemental Burst!"

"Oh no!" Zane stepped back a bit.

"Oh _yeah_! By sacrificing a Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire attribute monster, each and every card on your field gets totally destroyed!" he explained as his monsters went from humanoids to large pillars of elemental power.

The four streams of power soared through the air and wrapped themselves around the Phoenix and Dragon, obliterating them with ease. Zane, as well as everyone else in the arena, stared in complete surprise.

Jaden snickered, "So long, Cyber End Dragon...can't really say I'm gonna miss him!"

Zane slowly turned and looked right at him again, "You won't have to miss him, because by destroying Cyber Phoenix, I get to move one card from my deck to my hand," he paused, took the card and looked up, "Don't you see? The way I've calibrated my deck is that Cyber End Dragon is never really gone, I'll _always_ find a way to bring him back!"

"You're bluffing!"

"But I'm not, Jaden," Zane looked down at the card, "Because the card I picked was a Spell called Time Fusion! With it, time is most certainly on my side,"

Jaden frowned as a bright light appeared above Zane, "How is that, exactly?"

"Because, by removing one card in my hand from the game, it activates," Zane explained, "Meaning, I can automatically call up a Fusion monster next turn, without having to wait for a single summoning requirement!"

_So, he's right!_ Jaden bit his cheek, _Cyber End Dragon **will** return, and soon too!_

"You can't win, and you'll see why next turn, Jaden! Then, the Academy will see that you're a fraud!" Zane glared at him, a confident look in his eyes, "Don't feel bad, you lost to the best!"

"Already writing your Graduation speech, Zane?" Jaden raised an eyebrow, "Not so fast, 'cause I'm still here! It's my move now," he drew his card, "I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn,"

Zane kept looking at Jaden as he drew his card, _You'll have to do better than that, Jaden, especially after you see what I have for you!_ he took a card from his disk, "My turn, Jaden! First, this returns to me! Card From a Different Dimension! I removed it from play when I played Time Fusion, but now it's back and it doesn't stop there. Next, it's special effect activates and you know what that means: we both get to draw two cards!"

Both of them drew their cards and they looked at what they had drawn.

_Too bad nothing can help you now, Jaden._

_Zane must be pretty confident to lemme draw cards..._

"And now, I call forth...," Zane raised a hand to the sky, towards the light above him, "CYBER END DRAGON!" he roared as his beast appeared in a strong whirlwind.

"Not again...," Syrus moaned in misery.

"For once," Alexis blinked slowly, "You think he'd do a combo _without _that dragon...,"

"Hey, if it ain't broke...," Atticus shrugged, ruffling Jordan's hair, "Huh, Jordy?"

"Of course!" Bastion snapped his fingers, "Because the monster was summoned by Time Fusion, it _can't_ attack until next turn!"

"Next turn?" Chazz's eye twitched, "Grr...how long do I have to wait to see Jaden lose?!"

"You're gonna have to wait a long while...," Siho cracked a smile, rubbing his hands, "Because Jaden's not goin' down!"

Chazz looked at him, "How the hell do you know?"

"He knows because I know," Christina chirped.

Chazz looked at her, "How the hell do _you_ know?!"

"We know because we know!" Siho and Christina said in unison.

Chazz fell out of his seat, "For the love of...,"

"I'll end my turn with _one_ facedown," Zane said cooly as he slipped a card into his disk.

Crowler gulped and tugged at his collar, "Dear me, I'm sweating bullets over here! Can't we just declare Zane the winner yet?" he pleaded.

"Not yet, Crowler, after all, if there's one thing I've learned is to never count Jaden out until his Life Poinst are out," Sheppard said quietly, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"My draw!" Jaden drew his card, "I activate the Spell known as Fusion Recovery! This brings both Polymerization _and_ Burstinatrix from the Graveyard and add them to my hand," he paused and took the two cards that popped out of his slot, "Sorry, Zane, but you're not the only one who can re-Summon a monster!" he said firmly as Burstinatrix appeared on the field in attack mode.

He held up another card, "Next, I'll activate Miracle Fusion! Now, I just remove Avian and Burstinatrix from play and I can create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!"

Everyone watched as Jaden's trademark monster, the green and red monster with a single feathery wing and a dragon-head on one arm appeared on the field.

"But wait, I'm not done yet!" Jaden held up his Polymerization card, "I'll fuse Flame Wingman and the Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) to create the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2000)!"

Zane looked up to see another one of Jaden's more recognizable monsters, the armored counterpart to his Flame Wingman as it descended beside it's master.

"And here's the cherry on top!" Jaden continued, "For each Elemental Hero I got chillin' in the Graveyard, Wingman gets 300 attack points!" he looked down at his Graveyard, "Let's count off...Hero roll call!".

Quickly, an image of each Hero he ever used in this duel appeared in front of him before disappearing into thin air, while his Hero got a power boost.

E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman (4900/2000)

"Alright! Attack Cyber End Dragon, Flare Wingman!" he ordered.

The glowing Hero soared through the air and collided with Cyber End Dragon, making it explode with a great blast that made Zane cover his head as his Life Points went down.

**Z: 1100  
J: 100**

"Oh yeah! But, Flare Wingman's not done yet! After your monster is destroyed, you get dealt damage equal to it's attack points...and that's 4000!"

Zane watched in shock as Flare Wingman floated down in front of him.

Jaden smirked, "School's out, Zane!"

"Not yet it's not!" Zane cried defiantly, pressing a button on his disk, "I play a Trap card! Damage Polaryizer! Now, all damage from a special effect goes to zero!" he explained as an electric current went around Flare Wingman for a few moments before the Hero went back to Jaden.

Jaden rubbed his chin, growling a little, "I gotta admit, Zane, that's a sweet card...,"

"And, as you said it, for the cherry on top, we both draw one card, and for your sake, I hope it's good one!" Zane reached down and drew his card while Jaden did the same. They both looked at the card they had drawn.

_I can't believe... _Jaden stared at the card.

_...that I drew... _Zane looked at his.

_Battle Fusion!_ the two of them thought at the same time.

"I'll just throwdown a facedown and call it a turn," Jaden said as he slipped a card into his disk, "I guess you're up," he looked at his opponent, "What's it gonna be this time?"

"You'll see!"

"Well, whatever it is, good luck, because I have a feeling that this will be the last round!"

"I agree," Zane said with a nod, _The last round for you, Jaden. My victory is assured. Prepare for the bitter taste of defeat!_ he thought as he drew his card. He looked at it and smiled.

Syrus gulped, "I don't like the way he's smiling...,"

Alexis glanced at him, "Especially since Zane never smiles. Something's up here,"

"Yeah," Atticus nodded behind them, "I think we're about to see what's up very soon...get ready for the final round between the school's two best duelists!"

Kairi whimpered and squirmed in her seat, "C'mon, Jaden...,"

Khamille leaned forward, "This is it,"

"I'm so excited...," Christina bounced up and down, "I think I'm about to wet my pants,"

Everyone around her scooted away from her.

"What?"

Meanwhile, back on the field, Zane looked up from his card, still smiling.

"Jaden, it's been fun, but now, I'm afraid that it's over," he held up the card he just drew, "I activate Power Bond! Now, by sacrificing the right monsters, I can once again summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Chazz blinked and leaned over the railing, "How? You gotta have monster to sacrifice 'em!"

"Chazz is right for once!" Bastion agreed, staring as well, "His field is bare!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot...I don't _need_ monsters!" Zane plucked a card from his hand, "I activate Cybernetic Fusion Support! By trading in half of my Life Points, I don't need to make any sacrifices to summon my Fusion monster!"

**Z: 550  
J: 100**

"So, without further ado, let's welcome back Cyber End Dragon!"

Once again, the multi-headed metal beast appeared with a roar, a strong gust of wind blowing around it as it roared.

Jaden looked up at it, _You know, I'm starting to get **really** sick of this thing..._

**(Author's Notes: Right now, I bet a few readers are too)**

"Don't forget, thanks to Power Bond, it's attack points are double!"

Cyber End Dragon (8000/2800)

Zane held up another card, "Next, I'll activate this: Limiter Removal! Thanks to this, all Machine-type monsters on the field gets their attack points doubled, and guess what type of monster my dragon is?"

Cyber End Dragon (16000/2800)

"You're through!"

"I don't think so!" Jaden pressed a button, "GO, BATTLE FUSION! If fused during a battle, my monster gains as many attack points as Triple Chrome Dome over there!"

Cyber End Dragon (16000/2800)

E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman (20900/2000)

"He can't do that!" Crowler pointed and looked at his superior, "That simply must be against the rules!"

Sheppard shot up from his seat, "Oh please, this is what duelings all about!"

Zane looked at the Elemental Hero, but his smile remained, "Nice move, but it's all for naught. I use the Spell card Battle Fusion!" he roared, taking a card from his hand, "That's right, Jaden, I have one too!"

"Uh...oh," Jaden looked up at the Dragon as it seemed to grow larger with more and more attack points pouring into it's body.

Cyber End Dragon (36900/2800)

E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman (20900/2000)

Suddenly, it all became quiet. The excitement in the air, the noise from the audience, even the growling from their monsters were gone. Jaden Yuki and Zane Truesdale were now alone in their own little world, staring each other down with a look of both pride and admiration in their eyes.

"Wow, Zane, you really are the best!" Jaden praised with a grin, "I'm gonna miss ya,"

"And I, you, Jaden," Zane said evenly, "That's why, I'm passing you the torch,"

"Huh?"

"When I leave here, _you_ will be the best duelist at this school. Despite your grades, or your rank, you will be the best, so make me proud, Jaden,"

The Slifer's smile widened, "I'll give it my all, Zane, and I'll start right here, 'cause this duel's not over yet!"

Zane's head went back a little, a look of confusion in his eyes, "Huh?"

As quickly as it had disappeared, everything came back: the monsters, the electricity in the air, the anxious audience all around them.

"That's right, I still have one trick up my sleeve, and here it comes!" Jaden waved his hand and his facedown card was revealed, "I activate the Trap known as Final Fusion!"

Zane's confused look became one of admiration, "How clever...,"

"If this card's played, both of us take damage to our Life Points equal to our monsters combined attack points! You know what that means...," Jaden trailed off, a sly grin now on his face.

Zane nodded, his own smile coming back to his face, "Sure do!"

Everyone watched as both Cyber End Dragon and Shining Flare Wingman, both monsters with incredibly high attack points flew at one another. A bright glow filled the arena, making everyone watch in awe moments before a tremendous explosion rocked the room, a huge cloud of smoke covering the dueling platform.

"What happened?" Chazz demanded.

"Who won?!" Bastion cried.

"I can't see!" Christina wheezed with the smoke blowing at them, "Siho, can you see anything?"

"No! Kairi, Khamille?"

"NO!"

"Hell, no!"

Everyone rose to their feet, all of their hearts practically on the verge of stopping completely. They watched as the smoke cleared away, and they could see what had happened to the duelists. Zane was on one knee while Jaden was laying on his back. While it looked like Zane survived the blast, the result of the duel was the same for both duelists.

**Z: 0  
J: 0**

It was a tie. The Kaiser and the Hero were equals in this duel.

One by one, a student or faculty member in the stands began clapping for the duel, and for the incredible duelists that showed them what they could do. Jaden opened his eyes and looked at the crowd, still laying on the platform.

"You okay?"

The Slifer looked up to the side to see Zane standing right next to his head.

"I think so...," Jaden said with a nod, "How's my hair?" he asked as Zane took a seat next to him, "Is it still there?"

Zane smiled and looked at the crowd, "Looks like the duel's a draw,"

"Yeah...," Jaden nodded and looked out at the audience as well, "Does that mean...we gotta duel again?"

"Absolutely," Zane looked over his shoulder at Jaden, "Someday, we will,"

Jaden looked at him, a familiar smile crossing his face, "Sweet! I guess...until then, Zane,"

The Kaiser held out his hand, "Until then,"

"Good," Jaden slapped Truesdale's hand, "I could use a break!"

"Me too,"

With that, both duelists laid back and started to laugh while the crowd continued to clap for them and their awesome duel. Jaden's friends stood there among the clapping, proud of their friend and what he had done against the Kaiser, the best duelist in this school. This was a duel that no one would be forgetting anytime soon.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: well, that's that guys. The Graduation Match is over and done with, and it's a tie! With the match over, that means one thing. ISH DONE...save for the epilogue! Later guys, final chapter coming up, and coming up soon!**


	76. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.**

**Kilnorc: This is it guys...final chapter of GX: Heroes. Enjoy.**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

This was it.

The last day...the final day at Duel Academy.

When this year started, no one predicted that everything that happened, _would_ happen.

Jaden Yuki was just a kid who clobbered an elitist snob of a teacher in his entrance exams and became a great Hero to Duel Academy, as well as the world after defeating a group of power-hungry Shadow Duelists who were under the leadership of a man who wanted eternal youth.

Siho Zolaro, Christina Berg, and Jordan Rhodes fought against the forces of darkness as well, giving a hand to the good guys while trying to uncover just what the other group of Shadow Duelists were after. While here, on and off the dueling field, they discovered new things about their decks and their skills that gave them a fighting chance.

Chazz Princeton was once a snob in Obelisk Blue, thinking he was the best until Jaden defeated him many times, humilating him. He left Duel Academy, then came back a different kid. While he was still a pain in the ass, he had come down to Earth with some things and actually had a friend...though, it was an annoying Spirit.

Syrus Truesdale was, or rather still is, a shy boy who lives in the shadow of his big brother Zane, the Kaiser of Duel Academy. He'd always doubt himself about his dueling skills and would rarely think positively until Jaden and the others helped him out from time to time. At the start of the year, he was meek, weak, and scared. Now, at the end of the year, he was still meek, still scared, but not as weak. If anything, he was a bit stronger.

Alexis Rhodes was a girl in Obelisk Blue who thought she and her cousin Jordan would never see their big brother again. With Jaden's help, they recovered their family and are now on their way to making up for lost time.

Speaking of families, Kairi Lumina, who was once a fake Shadow Duelist along with her father, left her craft of deceit and joined the Academy, making friends with those who she had targeted while her father had disappeared mysteriously.

Khamille May Tong came to Duel Academy under the disguise and name of her older brother, Kristerr Tong, in an attempt to learn more about and do what she loved, without her oppressive, overbearing, and stuck-up mother saying she couldn't because it wasn't lady like.

Speaking of Kristerr Tong, it wasn't until this day that the gang found out why the heck he was back here.

"You're _what_?"

"Are you serious?!"

Khamille and Jaden stared at Kristerr as the young man carried a couple of luggage bags around the dorm building.

Kristerr paused at Banner's old office and home and looked at them, as well as the trailing group of friends, "Yeah, I'm serious. Starting now," he kicked open Banner's door, "I'm the Head of Slifer Dorm,"

"But it's so friggin' late in the year!" Khamille half-shriekd, "We're leaving in a few hours!"

"I'm aware of that. When I heard that they needed a new professor, I thought this would be a good opportunity to try my hand at it,"

"Don't you need a degree or something?!"

"Look sis," Kristerr leaned forward and looked into his sister's eyes, "I'm doing this as a test and favor, okay? Sheppard said that if I wanted, I could be the head of the dorm for the next year, and if I made it through, I could apply for the job full-time," he explained.

"But, what about mother, and your career?"

"All taken care of," her brother waved her off as he looked around, "I told her I'd take a sabbatical to practice...and to keep an eye on you,"

"But-,"

"Which, I don't plan on doing," Kristerr eyed Jaden, Siho, Syrus and Christina, "I think you got enough pairs of eyes to watch ya,"

"But...but...but...," Khamille stammered.

"Thank you, little sis, I'll be ready to leave soon, I just gotta get some stuff handled," Kristerr said hurriedly as he pushed the group out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well...that was informative," Christina said sarcastically, "Anyone up for getting thrown out of the Ra dorm?"

Siho and Khamille stared at her.

"What?"

Khamille shook her head and looked around, "Hey...where's Kairi?"

Siho, Syrus, Jaden, and Christina shrugged.

"She's not in her room,"

"Or the mess hall,"

"Or at the docks,"

"Or at the shop...,"

Khamille frowned, "So where is...," she sighed and nodded, "Alright, I know where she is. You guys get ready or whatever. I'll go find her," she said before turning and walking off.

"You gonna be okay?" Christina called after her.

The former Obelisk waved at her as she kept walking, "I'll be just fine!"

Syrus tilted his head as Khamille walked off, "Where's she going?"

-----

"I can't believe it...,"

Bastion looked over his shoulder to see Jordan packing up his bags, "Can't believe what, Jordan?"

The young Rhodes sighed and sat down on his luggage, hoping to close it, "I came here to be with Alexis, and to be a better duelist...what I got was a freaky ass year with these psychoes running around and you!" he pointed at Bastion, shaking his head, "Just...GOD!"

Bastion raised an eyebrow as Jordan fell over onto his back, "What about me?"

"How the hell can you be so calm right now?" Jordan looked up at him, "You went through hell, just like the rest of us and here you are, acting like it never happened!"

Bastion chuckled and stuffed his hands in his blazer, "I may look like I'm unphased by this years events, doesn't mean that I've forgotten. How could I possibly forget that Jaden saved the world from eternal darkness? How could I forget that I was held against my will against an Amazon and her giant tiger?"

Jordan facefaulted, "You were stricken with a love crush, point-dexter, that's not exactly a case of kidnapping,"

Bastion turned away and cleared his throat, "Anyway, my point is, people react differently with things that happen in their lives. I for one, take it all as a lesson, which we should all learn from with our mistakes and triumphs," he looked back at Jordan, "As well as the happy times with loved ones,"

_He means Atticus coming back..._ Jordan looked up at the ceiling, _Maybe he's right. Here I am freaking out about this year and I forget that Lexi and I have Atty back. Not only that, I have a lot of new friends, and learned something about myself..._ he grinned widely, _Guess it wasn't so bad after all!_

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing,"

-----

"ATTY!"

"C'mon, baby sis! He's a great guy!"

"I'm _not_ going out with Vahn!" Alexis whapped him over the head, "I don't care if he's a 'good-looking guy with dueling skills like Zane' I'm not even gonna try!"

Atticus rubbed the lump on his head as he and his sister walked on the dirt road towards the docks, carrying their bags.

"Aw, c'mon sis, why won't you try going with any dude I suggest?"

"Because I'm here to duel, and not to get a boyfriend, Atty!" she snapped, raising her fist again, "Or do I have to hit you again to get it through your thick skull?!"

Atticus backed away, "Excuse me for looking out for my baby-sister. Geez, a brother tries to help...,"

"And he gets beaten up!"

Her brother stuck out his tongue as the docks came closer, "See, it's an injustice and I-," he stopped talking and walking.

Hearing her brother's voice suddenly stop, Alexis turned to see him standing still, looking off to the side.

"Atty, what's wrong?"

Her brother nodded in the direction he was staring at and she turned to see Khamille heading into a familiar patch of forest.

"Is she heading where I think she's heading?"

"I think so," Alexis started to run towards the wood, "C'mon, Atty!"

"Hey, wait up!"

-----

Kairi stood on the outskirts of the Abandoned Dorm, her eyes staring straight ahead at the ruined building. It was here she started her life at Duel Academy. She first came here with her father to scare away some punk kids and make some money. Instead, she lost her father to a Shadow Game and became a student in Slifer Red dorm. She went through the year, wanting to find her father while she tried hard to become a better duelist so she could beat Siho one day.

It was here at Duel Academy that she met Khamille's alter ego and even developed a crush on "him", and was devastated that it was really a rich girl in disguise. For a long while, she hated Khamille, even though the other girl tried hard to make up for it. She even helped Kairi out with her deck!

Kairi looked down at her deck of cards and took out a single card. It was her father's Pandemonium Field Spell card. She missed him terribly, and even though he returned, she barely remembered it.

"I knew you'd be here,"

The blonde turned to see Khamille standing a short ways behind her. Kairi turned back and looked at the dorm, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see if you're doing okay," Khamille said honestly as she walked to her roommate's side, "I know this place is hard, Kairi, especially for you...and I'm sorry you had to suffer the loss of your father,"

Kairi glared at her, "No you're not,"

"Yes I am,"

"No, you're not!" Kairi walked away from her, "You have any idea what it's like to be in my life? My father did any job he could do so that he could support his family, and when I was old enough, I went with him! He taught me how to duel, and taught me hypnotism so that I could have the edge in a duel, through fear! You have any idea what it's like to travel with a job, and when you try to make a friend..._one_ friend, they either run off because they think you're a thief or a freak?!"

"Kairi-,"

"No, you don't!" Kairi screamed, "My father was the one thing in my life that I knew I could count on, and now that he's gone, what the _hell_ am I gonna do?! I don't have anywhere to go, I don't have any relatives that I know of! I don't even know where my mom is! I lived on the road with my dad for most of my life, and now that he's gone, I might as well-,"

_SLAP!_

Kairi stopped ranting as her head snapped to the side, her cheek burning hot. Slowly, she reached up and looked at Khamille, who was looking at her with tears in her eyes, her hand raised.

"Now that I have your attention," Khamille wrapped her arms around her friend and pulled her in a big hug, "Listen and listen good, Kairi...you're father may not be here, but he's not the only family you have. You have the others in the Slifer Dorm as well. Jaden, Christina, Siho, Syrus...and me,"

Kairi sniffed as Khamille's hug became a bit tigher.

"I know you're upset, but I don't think you're father would want you to be like this, Kairi. You say he loved you with all his heart, and I don't doubt that for a second he'd like to see you like this. You can mourn, that is natural, but if you walk down a path that is filled with grief, pain, and self-pity, then you could pretty much kiss the rest of your life goodbye because if you shut us out, you won't be able to get help from us,"

Kairi's muffled sobs kept coming, soaking Khamille's shirt.

"You have us, Kairi, a group of people who will always be there for you through thick and thin. If you need help, just let us know and we will make sure that it ends well. _Oretachi wa family_...,"

Kairi looked up at her, wiping her tears away, "Huh? Wassat that mean?"

Behind them, just past the treeline, Alexis and Atticus watched the scene in silence.

"Dude," Atticus shook his head, "Harsh...so, what does that mean?" he asked, looking at Alexis.

The blonde girl smiled and sniffed, touched by Khamille's words, "It means...'we are family', Atticus,"

Her brother turned back to the scene and nodded, "Figures if you think about it," he tilted his head, looking straight at the two girls, "Hey, are they like a couple or what? If so, you think we can see 'em kiss?"

_WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP!_

Alexis walked away, tossing a large branch to the side, leaving her brother on the ground, multiple lumps on his head.

"You're a pervert, Atty...I just hope Jordy doesn't pick that up from you!"

Atticus groaned as his leg twitched, "C'mon...sis...not fair...,"

-----

Finally, the time had come. Duel Academy Island was now void of student life. They were all on the boats headed to the mainland. As the boats sailed off, Sheppard and Crowler watched them go.

"Interesting year, wouldn't you say, Crowler?"

"Quite, Chancellor...I must say, I do hope that next is not as eventful as this year," Crowler fanned himself, "I could do without as much stress and worry that we suffered with this year,"

Sheppard chuckled, "You may think differently when I tell you something for next year," he said with a sly grin.

Crowler looked at him, "Hm? What about next year? We're not going to have a relapse of Shadow Riders, are we?"

"Oh, heavens no! Just a little change in the faculty, and I think it's right that I tell you right now,"

-----

"Man, I'm glad we're going home!"

Syrus stared at Jaden as he and his friend shared a stateroom on the boat, "You are?! I thought you wanted to live on at the school for the rest of your life?"

Jaden shrugged as he opened a can of soda, "Yeah, I would, but I think that I needed some break time from school anyway. Heck, we got done with finals and everything...not much to do,"

"You mean since hardly anyone would duel you anymore?"

The two Slifers nearly jumped out of their skins at the sound of a familiar voice, and the owner of that voice leaning in the doorway.

"H-Hey, Chrissy," Syrus waved, "How're you doing?"

"Eh, not too bad," the brunette said with a sigh, sitting down beside Jaden, "Just wandering around...seeing what others are up to. Siho's crashing in his room for awhile...I don't think he does well on boats,"

"Seasick?"

"That and I think a Godzilla movie in his childhood scarred him for life," Christina shrugged lightly, "Either way, don't expect to see much of him during the trip. So, what are you two up to?"

Jaden and Syrus shook their heads.

"Nothing either, huh?" Christina sighed and put her head on Jaden's shoulder, "I'm in the mood for a duel, anyone want to?"

"I DO!" Jaden shouted, rising to his feet, making Christina fall over the side of the bed, hitting the floor facefirst.

"You okay, Chrissy?"

"Jus' fine, Truesdale, jus' fine," came her muffled reply.

Jaden grinned as he strapped on his duel disk and grabbed his Hero deck, _Our first year at Duel Academy may be over, but at least I can go head to head with my friends anytime I can!_

"Ready, Jaden?"

"I'm ready, Chrissy, get your game on!"

-----

Siho lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, thinking about everything he had done and seen at school this year. From the Shadow Riders, to the Cocytus Squad, and to Vahn owning him in a very short duel.

_Vahn..._ he frowned, _What did you know about this? I know you knew about what we dealt with, and I think you even know about the Dark Man. How is it that you know this stuff? Just who the hell are you, Vahn Gale, and are you friend or foe?_

A dark chuckle made him turn his head to see the Dark Man sitting at the desk nearby, his back to Siho.

"What the hell do _you_ want?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," the entity shook his head casually, "Just looking over your card collection. I must say that you're skills intrigue me,"

"Oh, lucky for me," Siho rolled over, "I made a dead guy interested in me. Now, all I need to be is gay and a necrophiliac and I'm in business,"

Another laugh, this one a loud one, bounced off the walls of his stateroom.

Siho covered his ears with a pillow, "I'm not gonna get rid of you, am I?" he muttered under his breath?"

Almost instantly, Siho felt the pillow be ripped away from his hands and he felt a strong grip on his throat. Gagging, Siho looked up to see the Dark Man staring down at him, a malicious smile on his face.

"No, boy," the entity chuckled, leaning inward, "I'm not so easy to get rid of. Trust me...I'm not going anywhere for awhile. So you might as well get used to it," he eased off, "You might even learn something from me being here, so suck it up, you weakling,"

The Dark Man disappeared and Siho coughed, rubbing his neck, _For a dead guy, he's got some strength in the after life...but it won't last long. As soon as I get some answers from Vahn, I'm gonna work on getting this asshole outta my life! I don't care if it takes me years, this assholes goin' bye bye!_

As Siho lay there on his bed, Vahn stood outside the cabin room door, having heard everything that just happened inside. Frowning, he took out his cellphone and made his way down the hall.

"Vynix, it's Gale. Listen, that gut feeling I was tell ya about awhile back? Well, looks like it's not unfounded. Get me HQ, I want security and eyes on this kid and everyone he comes into contact with. Just do it, Vynix!"

He snapped his cell phone shut and entered his cabin, locking the door behind him.

_Siho, this was my last year here. I'll keep an eye on you and your friends during the break, but if something happens with that "guest" of yours, I won't be there to give you any help. Just make sure he doesn't go nuts, otherwise, we're all screwed! Keep him contained, and try to use his own power against him!_

Vahn rubbed his eyes as he sat down on his bed.

_They're in for one wild time with "him" back...good luck guys. You'll need it._

**The End**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: Well, that's it everyone. GX: Heroes is over and done with -sighs- man, that was a blast, huh? I got so many good reviews, not to mention a few bad ones too, but still, mostly all positive! I must admit, I never thought it'd be this popular, or it'd do so well! I thank you all for reading this fic, and you'll be happy to know that I am in the process of making an original arc before season 2! So, yeah, watch out for that.**

**Finally, before I go, I would like to dedicate this entire fic to everyone who's helped me out. To my friends, whose OC's made this story very interesting. To my fans, who gave me support and some ideas for the fic. Lastly, to Phantom 1 who inspired me to do this.**

**Thanks again guys, and I'll be back with a new arc! PEACE OUT!**

**P.S. Sorry if ending sucked, I was kinda in a bind there, LOL**


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